Paws Fur Coffee
by Zaphirite
Summary: He was so sure that Ladybug would already push him off a rooftop if she knew his civilian identity worked at a café called "Paws Fur Coffee" of all names, but his flub on the chalkboard menu just topped it all off. His neat handwriting read back to him: "Chai Noir". (In which Adrien has some cool drink ideas and gets to know a regular customer) [Cafe College AU]
1. Chai Noir

It all started with a really slow swing shift.

Adrien Agreste, education major and part time barista, was spacing out while writing out the drink of the week (the choice was always left to the mercy of the last worker out the door during this shift, really) when he came back to earth, read his writing on the chalkboard and burst out laughing. Only one of the two patrons crazy enough to be here at almost 11pm on a Thursday turned their head to look at him, but he barely even noticed through his humor.

He was so sure that Ladybug would already push him off a rooftop if she knew his civilian identity worked at a café called "Paws Fur Coffee" of all names (the owner is a dog person, but he'll take it), but his flub on the chalkboard menu just topped it all off.

His neat handwriting read back to him: "Chai Noir".

Adrien snorted ungracefully as he fought to breathe. He was thinking about the battle earlier this week, and it must have just auto-completed in his subconscious. He had to leave it. It was just too golden of an opportunity!

An idea. His brows shot up. Of course, it could be a dirty chai latte… Espresso and the box carton chai, so it's easy enough that the morning crew wouldn't get annoyed at him, and he got to keep the pun!

Ladybug would be so done with him, if only she could see this.

Adrien kept snickering to himself as he wrote out the description underneath. He even attempted to draw a chibi Chat Noir peeking out from behind the cup. Now if only he could get the hair right. It looked more Super Saiyan than his scattered hairstyle. He turned to look at his reflection in one of the metal shakers on the shelf above the counter-

\- and promptly lost his footing on the step stool he was on. Adrien barely had the chance to swear before he hit the floor, butt first. The only cat-latteral (heh!) damage was the box of chalk that spilled out half broken next to his head.

He heard a chair scrape against the floor. Worried blue eyes peered down at him from over the counter edge, shaded by dark bangs.

"A-are you okay?!"

Oh right, he fell. "Yeah-ow. Yeah, I'll be just fine." He bit back a hiss as he rubbed his back and stood up. "I appreciate you coming to my rescue, though."

Her gaze followed his movements as he stood, brushing himself off. Adrien glanced at the other patron in the building who didn't even flinch from behind their newspaper.

A groan caught his attention and he snapped back up to look at the other – this girl was already seated before his shift started, but the giant mug on her table still was half-full. Her raven hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was dressed comfortably in an oversized pink sweater, leggings, and boots. She probably went to his campus too, from how late she was staying here.

But now she was looking up at the blackboard, almost glaring. Her hands rested on her hips.

"Oh my _God_." She choked out, trying to hold back a laugh. "I don't know whether to hit your or laugh at how perfect that is – and how bad you made Chat Noir look!"

"What do you mean?!" Adrien was no artist, but it didn't look that bad…did it?

She pointed a finger up at the board. "He looks like a _pineapple_. Even I'm not mean enough to do that to him."

"And you can do better?" He tried to look cross at her, but she was now covering her escaped giggles with her oversized sleeve. He couldn't help but relax a little at how her eyes lit up with the same laughter.

"As a matter of fact, I can." She smirked at him and held out her hand. Adrien handed the last whole piece of chalk before she climbed the step stool.

"Oh right - reference, duh. Gotta pull up the Ladyblog." she muttered.

As she glanced down at her phone, body still angled at him, Adrien nervously flattened his hair back into place as neatly as possible before wandering out of her peripheral vision to find a distraction. He picked up the broken pieces of chalk still on the ground, keeping his head bowed. Having his identity and his sliiiiight vanity discovered wasn't on his list of things to do tonight.

"Alright, done! And now that I saved you from your starving artist future, I'd like a drink, please." By the time he turned around she was already down and handed him back the box of chalk with a shy grin.

He looked up and gasped.

It was purrfect.

Chat Noir grinned back down at the counter, staff in hand. It wasn't super detailed, but he was expecting her to copy the blobby chibi style he had attempted (okay, so it didn't look much better than those American how-to-draw-manga books, but he was trying!) and the best part was the "Meow-velous~!" written in a word bubble above his head.

"Wow," he breathed, still staring for a moment before turning back to the girl. "Can I pay you in drinks to keep doing this for me?"

She smiled back, face flushed but appearing a little more confident this time. "You know, with the upper divs I have this quarter I will hold you to that promise. I'm Marinette, by the way." She held out her hand.

"Deal." He shook hers firmly. "I'm Adrien."

"I know."

Marinette froze for a second before snapping her hand back to her chest, horrified.

"I, uh, I mean- I'm a design and textiles m-major, it'd be a little silly if I didn't know who y-you are!" Her eyes were wide, darting to look everywhere else around the room except at him. "Not that being G-Gabriel's son or a model is all you are! Um, because you go to school here – or, I mean - ughhhhh."

She slapped both hands over her red face and groaned. He raised a brow at her when she took a deep breath and held out her hand again, the other still covering half her face.

"Hi, I'm Marinette and I've been working so hard all day that I can't make a coherent sentence anymore." She muttered again, muffled by the hand still on her face.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the girl. True, his name did pull a lot of attention at first, and it was a relief when he could walk around campus and blend in like everyone else, but she's one of the first since coming to this school to say, "Hi, I know you but I'd like to treat you somewhat like a regular human being first."

Or something along those lines. He didn't catch every single word in her panicked state but he got the gist of it.

He took her hand in both of his and shook it once before letting go. She still refused to uncover her face.

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Adrien grinned wider and rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Sooooo…I do have to close up shop soon but I can make you a Chai Noir before you go." Marinette finally met his gaze again, grimacing at him.

"Is this how all your drinks are going to be named?" She groaned, looking up at the sign again before visibly deflating. "But yeah, I'd like that. I have more reading to catch up on before the sun rises."

"Is that a challenge?" His eyebrows rose as he pointedly looked at her before he turned to start on the drink. She walked back around the counter to the customer side and leaned forward to rest her chin on her hands.

"Why do I get the feeling you'll take it as one anyway?"

"I purr-omise I'll exceed your expectations." His voice drifted over the sound of the foamer. He didn't look up from the machine but smirked as he heard only a defeated sigh.

Marinette was hesitant when he told her the large drink was on him for helping him out, but the tired look on her face showed she didn't have it in her to politely deny it more than once.

Both of them were reluctant to say goodbye, but between their small conversations the counters were wiped, the chairs put up and all Adrien had to do was flip off the switch and lock the door. Neither noticed when the other mystery customer had left. It was past midnight when she jokingly bid him a good morning before zipping down the street on her bike, drink held carefully in one hand.

He watched her disappear around the corner, only then catching the goofy grin on his face. He made a new friend today, and he also found a fun challenge to work on.

It was only week two, but Adrien knew. This was going to be a really fun quarter.


	2. Bugi-menthe

"Really. You just had to think of an even worse one?" The voice deadpanned behind him the next Thursday evening.

He grinned and turned his head to see his new favorite customer. Adrien's eyes hovered over her lips, spotting the twitch of the corner of her mouth – she was holding back a smile.

He put a hand on his hip and made sure to keep his balance this time on the ladder, putting on a pout. "Really, and I thought this one was my best one yet!"

Marinette pointed up at the blackboard behind him. "Bugi-menthe? That's more than a small stretch! And look at her eyes, you made her look like a real bug!"

(Bugi-menthe - A strawberry-mint lemonade, read the board behind him.)

He snapped his head back to his drawing, now anxious. It wasn't that bad, was it? Not bad enough to make his Lady look that bad…he hoped. Adrien rubbed at the drawing with a cloth and tried to fix it, before he felt a hand on his elbow.

Marinette's eyes were glowing with amusement as she now stood next to him. "Make me a drink and I'll fix it for you again, deal?"

He handed her the chalk and switched places, only pausing to make sure the girl climbed up okay and then started on the drink. Adrien was proud of this one even more than the last because he knew strawberries were Ladybug's favorite flavor.

He wondered for a second if her civilian self ever passed through here, if she saw his brilliant idea last week. Would she have tried it just to humor her partner? Would she have smiled and rolled her eyes and carried on her way?

He made a tall pitcher and dunked in the mint leaves, absentmindedly crushing them with a spoon. Looking up, the room only held a couple other patrons getting early studing in.

Adrien hears the girl behind him climbing down and turns his head up. It was less detailed than last week's drawing of Chat but also a lot more cuter. Ladybug proudly brandished a victory sign, saying "Je m'appelle Buginette!" He could only smile softly at the image.

"Big fan?"

"Huh?" He looked back to her, coming back to earth.

"You're... making googly eyes at the chalkboard." Her eyebrow were raised, but she didn't laugh at him. The box of chalk rattled in her hands as she folded her arms.

"I...yeah, you caught me." Adrien laughed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "After last week's idea I wanted to make one that maybe she would like, the pun came afterwards."

Marinette watched him pour a cup for her and gave a short laugh. "Well I can tell you already that the puns already ruined that chance. Haven't you seen the way she reacts to her partner's?" She took the cup with a thanks, not meeting his eyes. Adrien watched her as she stared pensively at the glass for a moment before taking a sip.

Her eyes widened and she made a noise in surprise, snapping her gaze up to him. "This is so good!" She glanced at the drink in almost wonder, before taking a couple more sips. "This is so good." She repeated in a whisper, staring down at the drink.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the complete and serious awe in her face. "So what was that about my punny ideas?"

"As long as you make this drink for me after the week is over? Make all the puns you want! I'm sure Ladybug would love this more than she doesn't like Chat's puns."

Marinette's eyes were practically lit up with stars as she savored a second drink over her textbooks as Adrien began to clean up for the night. The other students slowly trickled out as the time came near, but once again Marinette stayed behind to keep him company, thanking him again for the drinks and wishing him good night before speeding off on her bike.

Adrien couldn't get over her expression from earlier. He wonders if Ladybug would wear the same expression if she ever tried it - he knows at least they went to the same university, so there was a chance...

Ladybug, to him is… like a glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day. The strawberry on a slice of cake that you couldn't decide whether to eat first or leave for the last bite but either way is just as sweet. She brings back the happiness of memories of his mother surprising him with a trip to the ice cream shop on the way home - a finger pressed to her lips as she wiped mint chip ice cream from his face, a sworn secret kept from his father, just between the two of them.

It was silly, but he hoped somehow she would get a hint of those feelings through a taste. Words failed him otherwise to describe what Ladybug meant to him.

He wonders what flavors she would associate him with.

He asks her that question during patrol two nights later.

"Flavors?" Ladybug's eyes turned up as she pushed her fingertips against her lips in thought. "Maybe cinnamon and vanilla...chamomile too. Stuff that you'd have in a mug while curled up in a blanket on a rainy day."

The two of them were taking a break on a high rooftop where they stored their bags - they both knew they were university students, so there wasn't any need to hide the need to get work done. Chat brought a thermos of tea and Ladybug handed him a sandwich from her bag.

"Really? My Lady, you should have told me you need my company, I'd gladly be your lap cat on a rainy day."

"Not if you're going to talk with your mouth full and get crumbs everywhere like that."

Chat glanced down at himself and brushed the crumbs off his chest, the bell around his neck jingling softly. Ladybug smirked at him before looking back down at her history reader. "Besides, there's a nice cafe that has a drink named after you that's a lot better company."

The way she said it meant to be a throw away comment, but Chat's ears perked up. The tip of his tail wavered in the air.

"Oh? So Ladybug is a fan of the punniest cafe in all of Paris? I bet you loved the last two specials they had then!" He couldn't help it, the shit-eating grin just pushed itself onto his face as he leaned in closer.

"Please, I can put up with Chai Noir, but Bugi-menthe? That's the worst attempt at a pun I've ever heard of, even worse than you!" She pulled up her reader closer to her face.

He leaned back laying a hand over his eyes dramatically and taking another bite of his sandwich just to spite her. "You wound me! And to think I worked hard to make it just for y-"

Chat froze before slowly peeking out from under his hand. Crap. That was a no-no, that was a huge no-no he did not just reveal something about his identity to Ladybug who did not want to know-

Ladybug's eyes widened, her gaze slowly dragging from his messy hair down to his ring. As it met his textbook and articles spread out in front of him, the way her mouth gaped told him he only packed one subject - his major. The reader dropped onto her lap and slipped to the rooftop with a thud but her hands were frozen in place.

One shaky hand came up and smoothed out his hair, pulling strands back into place. Her hand drew back but laid over her chest as she gaped at him.

"Oh my God. I know who you are." She whispered, terrified.

 _Shit_.

Chat gasped, choking on his sandwich. Ladybug frantically patted the roof around her for her water bottle but he held up a shaky hand to stop her as he hit his chest a couple times until the air broke through. Heaving breath back in, he looked back up to her.

"Wait, you _know_ me?!" He rasped out between coughs.

Ladybug shrunk back. "Oh, w-well it's not like we know each other actually. I know _of_ you. I know a lot about your civilian identity but I don't actually...know, _know_ you...you know?" She cringed at the way she ended the question.

His shoulders hunched up to his real ears and his cat ears flattened against his head. "Oh...yeah I guess I'm pretty easy to recognize, huh..."

"You worked the swing shift last quarter too, right?" Her eyes were still wide in shock. He couldn't read anything else in her expression that showed if this was a good or bad thing.

Chat now looked back at her incredulously. 'My Lady, why do you know this?" Her visible discomfort shook his hold on his own emotions - not that his ears and tail were fully under his control anyway, they gave away all the anxiety clawing in his stomach despite the grip he had on his tail.

"Um...my cousin has a ridiculous crush on a guy that works there and she dragged me along to study there during his shifts until you took that one." She folded her shaky hands in her lap, then ran her fingers through her bangs, unsure of where her hands should go.

He frowned. "We can drop the whole subject for now if you don't want to talk about-"

"No, we can talk about this. I'm still internally freaking out a little but I'm actually fine otherwise?" She looked unsure, biting her lip.

The hero swung the tip of his tail into his hands and he fiddled with the metal tip nervously. "My Lady, we really don't have to. I don't want to make you feel pressured about anything when it comes to our identities."

Chat Noir grew nervous as she chewed her lip in thought. He gripped tighter on his tail before it could start swishing against the roof tiles, not sure whether to disturb her thoughts.

"How about... we play a game?" She finally said after some time.

Now he was completely lost. "...I'm sorry, what?"

A wave of relief washed over him as her face relaxed, now smiling gently at him. "Knowing who you are...it's actually making me feel a lot more lenient about the rule I set years ago." She turned to look at the city beneath them, the yellow glow reflecting in her eyes. "We've known each other for so long and I used to be so afraid, but maybe it is time we should know. I'm not as scared as I used to be about it but I never could brought it up. But I know a lot more about you than you know about me...so how about you get to know me a little first before I show you?"

"I...would like that a lot." He practically whispered. She raised a brow at him and he grabbed her hand in both of his, letting his tail go free to show his happiness. "Really! I'm more than glad you're comfortable enough to share anything about yourself with me. Even more that knowing me made it so."

He never had a reason to be nervous since the first day they met - he was different as a younger teen, but being on his own in college was every excuse to let Chat take the reigns (after the paparazzi stopped being such a nuisance and people stopped treating him differently when they realized who he was, of course). He hoped that she got that from wherever she had met him.

God, he hoped he gave her a good first impression.

"What are the rules?"

"I'll have… an associate of mine come in and drop a hint once a week. You get one hint each time. If you happen to meet my friend, don't pester her for any more information. I'll be there studying for finals on week 10, we'll see then if you can find me after all those hints." She picked up her fallen reader with her spare hand.

His tail swished happily against the roof tiles. "And if I win, do I get to finally take my Lady on a lunch date between classes?"

She pushed him lightly on the shoulder with her reader, smirking.

"How about a cup of coffee first?"

* * *

Surprisingly, the drink of the week theme caught on well with the campus. Adrien's boss gave him free reign to keep making up new drinks as long as they weren't too elaborate and could easily be stocked for if an ingredient was needed. People online were leaving reviews with suggestions for future drinks based on akuma that the duo fought against in the past. Adrien spent that day in class writing up ideas from these posts (it was ok, he was recording the lecture, he reassured himself as he also tried to not let his muffled laughs block out the professor).

He set up a suggestion box the week before on the counter once he arrived to his shift that last evening, earning a look from the grumpy coworker he was relieving but nothing else as he put on his coat and left. Adrien got set up at the counter and finally looked around the room.

Marinette was already seated in the booth closest to the front counter instead of her usual seat in the back. He was about to greet her, but she and the table were half covered in fabric samples as she kept making messy piles. A pencil was held between her teeth as both her hands ran over the samples, brow furrowed in thought.

Adrien knew a few design majors. He knew that the more crowded a table was, the more likely he was going to get something flung at him if he tried to interrupt them. So he got to work on his new idea while she was distracted and opened a new box of colored chalk with a grin.

Twenty minutes later, the dark haired girl groaned as she peered into her empty mug and came up to the counter. Instead of taking it, Adrien instead looked very proud of himself as he set a filled cup in front of her, which she picked up with a quirked brow and took a sip. Her eyes lit up and Adrien grinned how cute it was paired with the line of whipped cream that was still on her lip.

"This is really good! What is it?" She peered into the cup at the lavender-colored drink.

Adrien only pointed up at the board behind him and watched as her wide eyes narrowed at the board and then lowered to look unimpressed at him.

"Villain of the Week: _Stormy Blender_ – a blended blueberries and cream frappé," the chalkboard read, complete with a drawing of the drink, the villain's umbrella as a decoration, and cartoon storm clouds all around it.

He cracked a toothy smirk and she sighed, drooping her head.

"Well, at least it's an improvement from last week. I'm keeping this by the way." Marinette met his eyes again and dragged the cup closer to make her point. "But at least let me pay you for this one. I didn't even draw anything this time."

Adrien shook his head before she could reach for her wallet. "It's already in the till, can't do anything about it anymore, princess."

The protest etched onto her face before her tongue, but before she could get a word in, a group of students stumbled through the door, visibly drunk. Adrien flashed an apologetic look to his companion before turning to the newcomers filling a booth. Two younger looking students from the group scrambled up to the counter as Marinette scooted aside and returned to her table.

"Just let us know if we're being too loud, and could we get-"

"We'll take whatever pastries you have left!" The second girl interrupted the first, eyeing the display case.

Adrien only chuckled at them and counted the impossible number of people stuffed into one booth. "Alright, that's a couple of everything. How's the babysitting going?"

The first girl sighed, slouching. "Everywhere that wasn't a club was full. Could we get some waters please?"

Marinette was covering her mouth with her sleeve but Adrien knew she was trying not to laugh. He stuck his tongue out at her as he passed her with three trays balanced on his arms, quickly serving the drunken group and even putting two coffees in front of the other two girls. "You looked like you needed it, coffee's on me." he added quickly before heading back to the counter. He notes in the back of his head that he should talk to his boss about making a deal for designated drivers or something.

Once the group got settled in the back, Adrien spilled the contents of the suggestion box over the counter and began to group them. Marinette peeked up at him from her table curiously. Her head tilted at an angle, bangs shifting to cover parts of her face.

"Whhssaazaahaaa?"

"…what?" Adrien paused, looking at her confused.

Marinette removed the pencil from between her teeth and used it to point. "What's all that for? I know they're suggestions, but what's with the system?"

He unfolded the next note in his hands, seeing an idea he already came up with. "Well, there's the new ideas," he gestured to the small pile on his left. "There's ones like these that I already made plans for," he put the note down in the middle pile. "Aaaand there's the random notes people have been sticking in here. For example, Theo from morning shift got a number from someone." He sorted the next open note into the last pile on the right, chuckling.

Marinette smiled in response but turned back to her own display in front of her, tapping her pencil against her lips, no closer to any decisions that she was earlier.

"I'm actually going to head out early this time, you mind making me another Chai Noir so I can finally decide on the materials for my assignment?" A light blush decorated her cheeks but she didn't meet his eyes, drilling her gaze in her lap instead. "Uh, if that's not any p-problem of course! Sorry I can't keep you company this time."

Adrien was completely caught off guard. He ruffled the hair on the back of his head as he fought off the surprise and blush that was about to spread onto his face. "You...really like that drink? I would have thought you would have wanted another lemonade from how you liked it."

She already began to pack up, sticking pairs of swatches into a giant pink sketchbook in between separate pages. "Well, right now I think Chai Noir would be a lot better in helping me get this finished because I need to be awake to do it. You ever had your thumbs crushed by a sewing machine?"

Adrien winced and started for the counter, raising his hands in defeat. "Yikes, okay, okay, I'm on it!"

He could hear Marinette chuckling behind him as he grabbed one more slip of paper and peeked at it while the drink was foaming under the machine.

 ** _[Hint #1: She likes to paint. Her favorite is watercolors.]_**

Watercolors... Adrien could only think of vibrant paintings of animals in motion that he's seen before in books. His father had a line one summer that had pastels splashed on draped white fabric that fluttered with each step. Or videos of galaxies painted in the eyes and faces of people - deep purples and every shade of blue he could think of. He'd love to see her paint some time, she must be great at it if this was her first hint to him.

"You're doing it again…"

He jumped, miraculously spilling only a little of the drink in his hand and clutching his new treasure to his chest. Embarrassed, he gave a small grin to the girl across the counter who was readjusting her overflowing purse.

"What's with the googly eyes again? Someone sent you a number too?" Her tone was more curious than teasing this time.

Adrien quickly poured the drink into a cup and sealed it before handing it over. "No, something much, much better." He finished with a grin, his cheeks feeling warm.

Marinette watched him carefully as she took the drink slowly, then slammed her hand on the counter before bolting out the door yelling a quick "Good night!".

To say he was surprised was an understatement. He stuttered back at the noise and managed to land a hand on the counter behind him to keep his balance. The door was swinging back and forth and the poor bell was ringing with it, and Adrien only snapped out of his shock - because usually when people bolted like that, there was an akuma very close by - when he finally looked down at the counter and saw a wad of bills crumpled tightly together.

He sighed, giving in this one time and putting her money in the till. He'll be faster than her next time.


	3. Prepare for Bubbler!

(AN: Okay, sorry for the holdup! I forgot to upload here too after Ao3. Good news: you don't have to wait too long for Chapter 4. I also included some links embedded in the fic that will open in new windows because there's a few songs that were used to write this chapter. I'll try to get around to embedding the art I made for each chapter here, but you can also find them on Ao3 or my tumblr at CrispyPata!)

There wasn't a new akuma every week, so Adrien got to pull from some public favorites. So far, the Bubbler was a popular vote, and he had a feeling at least half of those votes were out of spite or a joke with his crazy color scheme, but Chat Noir was always ready to rise to a challenge.

The Bubbler was...a strange memory for him. Being homeschooled he had no friends besides Chloe, Ladybug and Plagg for the longest time until he happened to befriend Nino on a music forum. Even after all this time, the fact that he was one of maybe three akuma he's seen that had been possessed for someone else's sake still comforted him in a weird way.

That video call before it happened - he still remembered how Nino was so furious at his father and his situation, how his birthdays went unnoticed - but even more so he was distraught over how he was so powerless to do anything to help him. "I swear man, I am going to find a way to get you out of that house and live like you actually deserve to." Nino said before ending the call. Soon after then the Bubbler came along and swept up all his friends to introduce to Adrien and throw a party.

Friends, Adrien realized after their victory that day, were more precious than just in numbers. Friends are great and do good things for each other. Nino made sure when they found out they got into the same university to show him around on every single thing he missed out on. They're roommates, best friends, and he didn't know where he'd be without him.

Then there's Marinette - he gained another friend and it was through acting like himself! She kept up so easily with his banter, and she was fun to talk to about almost anything that came up in their late conversations. She was kind, she was smart...and she was his friend.

Marinette came in after his shift started for once, she took one look at the board behind him and groaned, burying her face in the bundle of fabric in her hands.

Friends also mess with their friends with bad puns. He couldn't help letting one of Chat's mischievous grins grace his face. The chalkboard read: "Villain of the Week : Prepare for Bubbler! (fruit+soda+energy drink infusion)", but the space where the drawing would go was left blank, leaving a speech bubble saying "And make it a doubler!" hanging in the air, along with a "Happy first round of Midterms!" at the bottom of the board.

He put on as innocent a look as he could with that grin. "Hey Marinette! Could I interest you in a Prepare for Bubbler? Only one euro to make it a doubler!"

"Okay, that's it. I'm leaving." She didn't even uncover her face, already taking a step back.

"Oh! Want it to go then? I can put it for you in a tumbler!"

His shoulders were shaking from holding in his laughter. If looks could kill, her glare was enough that even Ladybug couldn't bring him back.

Part of him thinks it would have been worth it in that case.

"Why did my life turn out like this? What did I do in a past life to become friends with such a complete dork?" Marinette all but prayed to the heavens above in resignment.

If there weren't half a cafe full of people studying for first round of midterms, he would have gladly burst out laughing. Instead he pulled the collar of his shirt over his mouth to hide the shit-eating grin splitting his face as the snickers slipped out between his teeth.

Marinette was still giving him the stink eye as she planted herself in the same booth near the counter as last week.

Adrien finally got enough of his amusement out of his system to face his fate. "Okay, that was really bad this time, I know. I'm sorry. Kind of."

Finally she pulled the bundle of purple cloth away from her mouth - still scowling at him, but it looked more like a pout. "I don't know if I should do anything for you after being welcomed like that." the girl deadpanned.

"I said I'm sorry!"

She unfolded the cloth and eyed the embedded pins (how did she even stuff it against her face without stabbing herself?) before pulling out a cookie tin from her bag. "And what if I don't feel like it for just one drink?"

He could hear the teasing tone in her voice, but still offered: "What if I make you two to make sure that gets done?"

She was actually considering his offer, looking down at the lavender fabric and opened the cookie tin...which was disappointingly filled with sewing supplies.

"Will you draw the picture for me pleaseeeee?" He put on the best kitten eyes he could, pawing at her arm.

Marinette only stared at him with a blank face for a few seconds, then facepalmed. "God damn it, I can't take the kitten eyes from anyone. Now you know my weakness."

Her other hand she held out, and he darted up to retrieve the box of colored chalk and put it in her waiting palm. "Thank mew~" he crooned, only to be met by another death glare. "Sorry. Shutting up now."

Adrien's mind was sidetracked as he planned his schedule for the week - he finished two midterms and had the harder one last tomorrow afternoon. He could stay up after patrol to study and crash later...but that wasn't always the brightest idea when the last attempt made him knock out in the middle of an exam.

This drink was quick to make, and so he fiddled with the counter for a while, only turning around when he heard irritated noises behind him.

He was met with a much more detailed version of the Bubbler than he was expecting.

Marinette was trying to erase bits with a napkin to get the black coloring in his face spots and arms, frowning deeply. Adrien touched her elbow gently, snapping her focus. "Hey, it looks great! Way more than usual. You can leave it like that if it's bothering you, I think it looks just fine."

She glared at the drawing once more before finally nodding and climbing down. "Sorry, he just didn't look right when I tried to draw him like I did Ladybug, and you are paying me in drinks so I didn't want to give you something half-assed." Her voice suddenly revealed how exhausted she was, and up close he could see her concealer rubbing off under her eyes, letting a deep purple hue peek through.

He guided her back to her seat and put both drinks in front of her before giving her hand a squeeze. "It's more than enough and I really, really appreciate it. Now get some work done before I decide to kick you out so you can get some rest." He joked, before heading back to the counter as more people piled in through the door.

It was a busy night, and he didn't get to check in on the poor girl until she left. Adrien was on his own at closing time when he emptied the box and found the next hint.

 **[ Hint #2: She can't dance at all. The luck doesn't carry over outside the suit and neither does the coordination - she's super clumsy. ]**

The next evening, Chat Noir decided he wanted to know a little bit more about this interesting fact.

"Come on, you got to have a reason why you can't dance. Was it an embarrassing moment, or can you not keep a tempo, or…?"

"Nope, you got your hint for the day, I'm not giving you any more spoilers till next week." She stuck out her tongue at him before flipping a page in her packet.

"Alright then. I'll make do with what I have then."

Chat stood up, brushing off his legs before offering his hand to Ladybug. She took it without hesitation and was about to help push herself to stand up too when he decided.

"I'm going to teach you how to dance." he said before pulling her up.

"What?!" Her eyes bugged out as she stumbled forward, bracing her free hand on his chest. The heroine's face flushed near red like her suit, looking down at her feet adamantly.

Chat chuckled to himself, enjoying this new side of his partner he finally got to meet. Her dark bangs covered most of her face but he could see the tips of her ears burning bright red. Gently, his knuckles tipped her chin up to look him in the eye. His mouth split into a wide grin at her nervous face - lips drawn in a long thin line and her eyes were still refusing to meet his, looking over his shoulder until he let out one breath of a laugh.

God, his heart was fluttering like crazy at the sight.

"My Lady, dancing with a partner is just the same as fighting alongside one. All it needs is communication," he tilted his head to the right to align their gazes. "And trust."

He let go of her and took two steps back before bowing with his hand held out.

He smiled seriously, gently at her. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you, of course!" She stepped forward and hovered her hand over his, again looking away. "I just don't trust me or my two left feet."

Chat stood up and moved to her side, guiding her hand with the lightest of touches. "I'll teach you something slow so it's easy. The beat of a waltz is in threes; one-two-three, four-five-six. The basic step is just back-turn-together, front-turn-together and you repeat that a lot."

He pulled back his hand and pretended to hold an invisible partner, counting out loud as he walked through the steps.

"Are you up for the challenge?" His lip quirked up.

She lifted a brow at him, crossing her arms. "Fine, let's see how good of a teacher you really are."

To Ladybug's surprise and to his own satisfaction, he had a lot of experience with the subject at hand, as she would learn.

"What, the girls at the fancy rich galas not up to your standards?"

"Well, my standards are going through one dance without them trying to discreetly touch my butt or latch onto my face, so no, they weren't."

"Pffffft, yeah right."

"What, you don't believe me? They were all being creepy and I have an excellent butt, for your information." He mockingly turned his head away, nose turned upwards in disgust. "Besides," he looked back at her again. "Maybe I'm like you; I just needed the right partner."

It took a while for Ladybug to completely learn the box step, but with enough effort (again with that determination that drove him mad at times but still loved so much), she even got down one or two other simpler moves before Chat offered to find a slow enough song to try.

"S-sure, if you think I'm up for it. Oh, wait hold on!" Ladybug hopped over to her book bag and pulled out a wide, long black scarf that she tied around her waist.

Chat looked at her, more in a question than a laugh. She curtsied with her makeshift skirt, and he followed with a dramatic bow. They still stood apart as he reached out his arm, the other hand hovering over the button on his music player.

Everything about his posture was as formal and poised as he was taught to be, but his face relaxed into something much more honest. "So Buginette, may I have this dance?"

"You may, Chatton." She stepped forward, laying her hand in his palm.

He brought their hands up between them, palms touching. "We'll start slow. Just follow my lead and my count."

It was kind of cheating.

Okay, to Chat it was very cheating, but to be fair, she said she wasn't going to _say_ any more hints for the week and there were more ways to skin a cat (figuratively, of course). After being immersed in them for so long, music and dance were just other languages to him. Every pitch, every movement was deliberate, and though he had the mask of perfection, it was developed after many years of attending those events with his father.

But for the girl in front of him, right now she was an open book.

He let the very tips of his fingers fit between her shaky own in comfort.

"One, two, three."

He pressed play, storing the music player in a pocket, and began to walk her in a circle as the lyrics started, palms together and elbows bent, keeping her close. Chat counted by measure to slow down and let Ladybug learn the tempo, watching her carefully.

"One...Two...Three..." Her hand pressed flat against his, her fingertips squeezing his own. She was still nervous, thinking of following and getting the moves right first before the flowy movements. Yet, she wanted to use that scarf as a makeshift skirt - something that gave that sense of full movement, maybe a slight distraction for him or more comfort to her to cover up any blunders. Her spare hand held it, helping it catch air with every step.

"Four...Five...Six..." Her eyes leveled with his, watching for any signals. Chat was taking the lead, and she was following, putting her trust in him when her earlier comments should have her staring at her feet. Her blue gaze flickered between their touch and his gaze, growing bright and dim like a lighthouse as he eclipsed her from the one light on the rooftop.

"One...Two...Three..." He nodded and raised their arms up, Ladybug spinning twice without hesitation, stuttering only a little as she came to a stop in front of him, crashing into his chest but landing her spare hand on his shoulder. A triumphant grin widened on her face - she was stubborn about learning and was determined to get them right.

"Good, you're doing great!"

They swayed in place for a few counts, Chat humming along to the song.

"Ready? We're speeding up at the chorus!"

She grinned, flush still scattered across her face in happiness now than embarrassment. He gave her hand a squeeze and they both counted two measures out loud before he guided her in faster circles covering the whole rooftop.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, hold!" Ladybug was now laughing freely, still imperfect in her steps, but she didn't have a care in the world. "One, two, three, four, five, six, spin!"

Chat decided he didn't either. He never wanted to dance again unless it was with her, like this, in this one moment that just belonged to them.

"Okay, follow my lead on this one."

At the bridge of the song he spun her once, catching her other hand and stretched both their arms out, her body turned forward away from him. He didn't close the gap between their bodies but instead leaned his neck forward to whisper over the suddenly quiet melody.

"Same steps, just side to side...left, two three, right two three…"

He straightened up and was surprised when her head followed, turning enough so that one eye could look at him through her lashes. Their movements shook some of her bangs to cover her view, which she quickly huffed out of the way.

This was new.

Ladybug's eyes were glittering in the twilight around them, deeper and darker blue than he remembers that threatened to pull him in. But there was something else in them, the way her brows angles under her mask and in the way her lips parted open that was something he wasn't prepared to see.

Chat only just realized that the song had already ended and they stopped moving their feet, frozen by the others gaze.

"...my Lady?" His throat was suddenly dry, his voice more strained than he wanted to let on.

 ** _Be-beep, be-beep-_**

Ladybug broke out of her trance and snapped around to face him, letting go. His heart settled heavy as she looked between him and the noise coming from her book bag.

"I...I have to go. I need t-to finish a project that's due at my 8 am."

Her face stiffened as she gathered her bag and shut off her phone, looking back at him one last time. She muttered a quick good night before casting her yo-to into the darkness and taking off.

The pain of his claws digging into his palms barely registered as he stomped over to his own bag and kicked it with a grunt of frustration.

They were so close.

But that first look he knew was fear. Suddenly, she was scared of him.

The second look before she left was shadowed by walls around her heart that suddenly had come up again.

* * *

The next week, Wednesday morning brought an akuma attack.

"Sing, o Heavenly Muse, of the sorrow of Altair and Vega!"

"Ladybug, look out!" Chat Noir called as they both jumped to dodge the glittering arrows from the akuma behind them. They ended up on separate sides of the Siene when the arrow struck the waters. A nebula of colors bloomed under the surface as the water level rose quickly, flooding onto the streets and forcing the heroes up to higher ground.

Adrien didn't know much about the stories behind constellations, but the way that the thick walls of water rose up between them every time they tried to cross over the river, he was getting a little tired of the whole "star-crossed lovers" deal he and Ladybug seemed to have fated for them, romanticism be damned.

And the literally star-themed akuma be damned too, while he's at it.

As much as he wanted to blame the akuma, Ladybug still was acting weird and avoiding his eyes. It annoyed him, but all he could do in this situation was let her take the complete lead and follow.

It took some time, but with a Lucky Charm granting a box of plastic wrap, Ladybug was able to catch the akuma by wrapping her arms and her mouth, leaving the glittering crown of stars above her head easy pickings and the purification was done in a snap.

Chat gazed at the glittering blue galaxy in the river as it was washed away by the magic. His eyes lit up in inspiration. Looks like the next drink he originally had planned will have to wait.

He fought against the ugly feeling curling in his stomach when Ladybug took off as soon as she cast her spell, not even standing around to watch the damage come undone. The akuma victim was thankful as he arranged a taxi to take her back to her family in the next city over, footing the bill.

Of course, it was only noon when he detransformed and returned to campus, jittering with excitement that was more distracting than energizing. Adrien resigned to his usual caffeinated fate and made his way to the campus coffee house. It wasn't like the cafe he worked in downtown, but it did the trick and it was cheap.

Nursing his cup of iced coffee, his grin grew as he saw the bench at the piano in the corner of the room empty. The campus tuned it once in a blue moon, so he hoped luck was on his side for once, quickly striding over and dumping his bag on the floor (earning a hiss from his kwami who fell asleep after the battle). Adrien muttered an apology before lifting the lid and laying his fingers over the keys.

He was in a weird mood and still a little down from the week before and today, so he decided to indulge a little bit. Long, nimble fingers played the opening run.

His voice was soft, barely audible over the background noise of the other customers. Adrien couldn't help himself but sing along as he got to the first line in the song. "Gomen ne sunao janakute, Yume no naka nara ieru," He hummed along, continuing the next line. "Ima sugu aitai yo…"

A hand placed a rather large cup down on top of the piano from behind him.

"You know, I was a little intimidated to talk to you before I found out you are the biggest dork ever."

Loose black hair peeked over his shoulder, and he smiled, turning to face his friend.

"Marinette, how could you? Buying coffee from another barista? I thought what we had was special!" He leaned back dramatically, covering his eyes with the back of his hand.

The girl sputtered for a moment before pulling his hand away. "Well, what about you, huh?"

He patted his own cup gently. "Excuse me, I am very much loyal to my artist, I am just saddened she doesn't think of me the same."

She huffed at him, but as Adrien scooted down the bench and gestured, she took a seat by him.

"I learned as a kid, but I only learned a couple songs by ear." Marinette admitted, flexing her fingers over the keys. "Oh, here!" she fished her tablet out of her bag and typed in something, balancing it on the stand in front of them - sheet music to a duet. "Tell me if I still can play this right, I used to play it with my relatives who actually could play, so I knew the easy part."

Adrien scrolled through the pages, seeing it was a short song as he heard her press the keys up the scale, trying to find the first note. She let out a noise of triumph as she found the E, and began to play each note one by one. There were moments she would stutter or get the wrong note, but Marinette quickly recovered and kept going until she found the way. It was a slow, somber song, and there was a moment she paused, looking at him expectantly.

"...what?"

"...that's the part where you come in." She played the last two measures again, nodding at him.

He glanced at the sheet music on the screen and followed, playing the same melody on his end of the piano. Marinette nodded and continued, and he responded back to her next few notes in turn. She played her next few measures, holding the last chord as Adrien looked back up to the music and saw his part picking up on its own.

He wasn't the best at sight reading, but it took only a couple measures for him to pick up speed as he nodded with the song's suddenly lively tempo. There was a measure of rest where he looked back at his companion who watched him in surprise. He continued on, smiling, getting to the part where the duet came back together again and he turned again to her as he repeated the four notes picking up into it.

She held her hands up defensively, staring at him with eyebrows raised. He just shrugged and continued the rest of the song on his own, reaching his left hand across her body to cover the second part himself.

Okay, maybe he lets a little too much of Chat out sometimes, but it's not often he gets to really play music like this with a friend. She shoved his shoulder playfully. "Show-off." she muttered, grabbing her cup of coffee.

He rolled his eyes before he could stop himself. "Well, excuuuuuse me, Princess."

Marinette gasped at him, actually offended. "You! You - you _memer_! How dare you? All this time I thought that was just a cute nickname!"

He couldn't help but burst out laughing at the serious accusation, only to be cut short by the clock tower ringing for the half-hour. Great, he had calculus in ten minutes.

Adrien reached around behind Marinette for his bag, standing up to put it on. "I got class, but will you be there tonight? I won't change the board 'till tomorrow, but just wondering."

Her blue eyes widened at him for a moment before turning to pick up her tablet and put it in her bag. "I...have to work on something tonight at home, but I'll definitely be there tomorrow, okay?"

He bit the inside of his cheek at the distant answer, but didn't push it. Adrien gave her a wave before walking towards the exit, turning back once to see her still seated at the bench staring forward with her hands wrung in her lap.

The next evening, the chalkboard was already set up when she came in late. Villain of the Week : Heaven-tea Muse – a berry and black tea with a dash of milk and sugar glitter. He was able to manage something that looked like galaxies with stars drawn around the glass on the board.

Adrien fluffed up with joy at the sight of Marinette stunned by amazement at her glass. The deep purple drink contrasted with the creamy white whisps swirling in it and even shimmered in the light. Marinette looked ridiculous, parading around the room with the drink held up in her left and her phone in her right, trying to find the best lighting for a picture.

The other students in the room continued to ignore her, zoned in on their books and screens.

"Ah-hah!"

He slowly clapped as she finally walked back to her seat. "Congratulations, now can you please try it?"

The girl in front of him didn't respond, staring down at the table but not really focused on anything.

"...hey, I think we've met before." she muttered quietly, putting down her drink.

That caused Adrien's anxiety to spike up and he was fiddling with the edges of his apron to calm his fingers. "R-really? Where would that be?" Damn it voice, behave!

She seemed to shift uncomfortably too for a moment, stirring the drink with her straw to make the drink shimmer. "...Remember how last week I drew the Bubbler really good? That's cuz I was there at that party. Nino was one of my classmates since back then."

"Oh." Adrien inwardly deflated. "Yeah, that was for me. Nino was so upset about how I used to be locked up all the time...I'd say I'd appreciate it more if he didn't also almost send everyone else into space, but that was my first birthday party with other people."

She watched him carefully, sighing before looking away. "Speaking of, do you mind making me another Bubbler drink? Sorry, I really gotta finish this commission by tomorrow."

He eyed the work done on the table so far and the bags forming under her eyes before he decided he wasn't the best person to preach to her about self-care and sleep. "Okay, but I gotta get some stuff from the back, so be right back."

Adrien nabbed the suggestion box from the counter on his way to the back kitchen area, dumping out the contents and sifting through until he saw one folded neatly with her signature on it - she still wanted to play the game! His heart was racing wildly at the realization, but this only added onto his confusion.

 **[Hint #3: Roses are okay, but her absolute favorite flowers are carnations.]**

Adrien ruffled his hair, staring at the hint in thought. There was a flower shop at the edge of downtown, maybe he could make a stop before patrol soon. Maybe that could break the ice of whatever's going on between them. He quickly grabbed an energy drink from the stock room.

"Hey, Marinette, what do you know about flower meanings?" He called, coming back to the storefront.

He whipped around when he heard a yelp of pain, only to witness Marinette snap her arm back and knock over the entire sewing canister to the floor. She looked down at it, seeming so exhausted as if her soul was about to leave her body, before flopping her head into her arms with a groan.

Adrien ran his hand through his head again before walking around to her side. He shook her shoulder gently.

"Come on, Princess. We both gotta clean up and go home. I have half the mind to walk you in case you fall asleep and crash your bike."

Her head picked up, blinking slowly at him as if considering the idea for a second before plucking his hand off her shoulder and getting up.

"No need," she muttered, detatching a magnet from the inside of the tin and hovered it over the tiles to pick up loose needles. "Last thing I need is you finding out how much I don't sleep, then I'd never get rid of you."

She yawned wide, not bothering to cover her mouth. Adrien picked up a ruler and poked her in the cheek, earning him another of her half-hearted glares. He grinned back.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that."


	4. Latte Wifi

Ladybug had canceled patrol this week.

He was greeted with only an audio call the afternoon of the day, and it had been half drowned out with loud sounds in the background.

"I-uh, it's just- there's a lot going on at my end of things and I really c-can't do it this week or bad things will happen. You should take the night off too." She didn't even give him a chance to cut in before he heard a loud snap over the line and a frustrated grunt from his partner. "Okaysorrygottagobye!"

Problem was, since that patrol started during his shift, he already got the night off approved by his boss.

"Plaaaaaaaaagg." Adrien flopped onto his bed after the call ended, burying his face in his pillow. "I don't like this."

His kwami sat in the pile of clothes gathering on his desk chair, hidden away enough in case Nino came in. Knowing green eyes glanced at his chosen and then closed as he curled up inside a beanie.

"Why?"

"Because Ladybug doesn't want to talk to me."

"Why?"

"Because...I don't know."

The cat yawned. "Why?"

Adrien pulled his head up to glare at the kwami. "Because she hasn't told me why, that's why."

"...Why?"

It would be so easy for Adrien to just hook his foot into the jacket at the bottom of his chair-drobe and topple the tower of clothes. He stretched out his leg but it was just out of reach.

"Because you sound like a broken record and a whiny toddler."

"No, that's wrong. You're the only whiny baby here. Try again, kid."

"Why do you keep asking why?"

"Because you're wallowing."

"Am not." He crossed his arms and rolled away to face the wall. "And I have every right to wallow and be frustrated right now, thank you."

Plagg zipped up, still inside the beanie, and dropped it on his face. "Wrong answer." He sing-songed, landing in front of Adrien's face on the bed.

"...someone avoiding me is pretty good reason to be frustrated I think."

"Yes, but why is she avoiding you is the question I'm trying to ask."

"I told you Plagg I don't know!"

"You do know. You just want to avoid it."

Adrien shut his eyes and let out a long breath. He didn't like it when Plagg pulled that line and he hated it more when most of the time he was right. Instead of trying to fight harder to break out of his house and go to school where Chloe was helping him get in, he was too afraid to face his father's anger after the first attempt had failed. He was afraid at first to tell him that he wanted to go to college instead of model full time, and when he wanted to study to become a teacher.

Plagg was the biggest pain in the ass during that time, but it got him to stop standing still and start pushing forward. And he was so grateful for being chosen to become Chat Noir since it gave him the courage to finally fight against the bars of his cage, even if it was really late in the game.

But this wasn't a cage. This was a brick wall he now faced. One that parted him from someone very dear and important to him, and one that he couldn't just tear apart with almost reckless abandon like he did with his father.

"What's that saying...the best explanation is usually the easiest?"

"Occam's Razor." Adrien covered his eyes with an arm, screwing them shut in concentration. "Okay fine, I'm thinking. Ladybug doesn't want to talk to me because she doesn't like me anymore."

That earned him a thwap of Plagg's paw on his nose. "Not simple enough. Try something with evidence."

"I don't know what else to tell you, Plagg. Everything was fine and we were having fun dancing and then she was looking at me all scared and-"

"-and that's it. See, not that hard when you actually say it out loud."

"But I made her scared. I don't know why, but I did something."

"Humans are like cheese, except too complicated."

"Plagg. I'm not a philosophy major."

"And thank the universe you aren't, I had a kitten who was an apprentice to one of those big names in Greece, he never shut up about the world like you don't about Ladybug."

Adrien just lifted his arm to raise his brow at his kwami, who just cracked up at the look he got.

"What I mean to say is that even though Camembert is...ripened, it doesn't mean it's gone bad. Instead it's the most delicious, heavenly blessing…" The cat was practically drooling at this point.

Adrien could only start laughing at this point. Leave it to his kwami to for once make food relevant - it was a good enough metaphor.

"Alright, alright you've earned it." He got up and shambled over to the mini-fridge by his desk. An alarm went off on his phone as he held the fridge door open, signaling the time he usually headed out the door to walk to work. Not that he needed that right now, and even then he always headed to work early so he could grab dinner somewhere beforehand. With patrol canceled, he suddenly had a lot of time on his hands.

He could study, sure. Round two of midterms were next week. But a little air might be the thing he needed.

* * *

Chat Noir found himself across the street from Paws Fur Coffee around his start time anyway. It wasn't even a conscious thought, but his patrol path just led him here. He peered into the windows, only able to see the first few booths filled with students. Theo was able to cover his shift, but part of Chat Noir wanted to be there instead of patrolling on his own. Yes, it was his duty as a hero, but as much as he loved the freedom of late patrols as a teen, tonight it just seemed too empty.

He was lonely.

It was important to be patient even though he needed to talk to Ladybug and ask what's wrong, but with how distant she's been the last few weeks, Chat wasn't sure what to do. Though he's grazed those walls she put up between them, he's never tried to push against them, and he was hesitant to start that now.

There was just too many mixed signals messing with his head. He didn't know what to make of any of it.

She continued the hints - that must mean she still wanted to continue the game and ultimately let him find out her real identity. There's no other way around that action, unless she was continuing only out of pity or obligation, but no - she's been adamant about this, there's no way she would unwillingly do a thing like that now.

She didn't want to talk though and she even canceled patrol for the week...it could be that she just had a lot going on in her schedule, but it didn't explain the distance in person.

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a rider on a pink bike zip through the streets, coming to a jarring halt that lifted the back wheels and jostled the rider forward with enough force to lift her from the seat. His ears perked up as his super hearing picked up her voice, low and muttering frustrated as she locked her bike. It wasn't enough to tell what she was saying, but he smiled anyway.

Marinette picked up the pile of fabric in her bike basket and walked across the street to the coffee shop. Chat leaped down from his perch onto the sidewalk gently. It wouldn't be too much for him to take just a peek through the window for her. He didn't think much of it until she walked back out not even thirty seconds later, no drink in hand.

Even more interesting, she was physically wilting as she exited, dragging her feet across the concrete and into the street. The carefully folded fabric in her arms were now haphazardly stuffed under one as the other fumbled for her keys in her bag. She paused to peek in it, muttering again to no one.

In that second, Chat realized a couple things.

One: he had night vision. It was now nearing 9 pm and the sun had set a while ago.

Two: Marinette was wearing a black hoodie that engulfed her body.

Three: She wasn't visible to anyone without night vision, which included the horde of bikers coming down the street.

Either he yelled or she now heard the bikes approaching when she snapped her head up with eyes like a deer not literally in the headlights because _not a single person in that horde had a bike light oh my god_ _and they couldn't see her_. Chat leaped out and pulled her by the arm against him as he turned and brought them closer to the sidewalk. The bikers passed them yelling collective sorries when they saw the hero, some screamed in response as he flattened his ears and hissed at them.

It took a moment for him to breathe and stop glaring down the street after they had passed.

"Damn it, where's the bike police when you actually want them?" Chat muttered under his teeth as he released his vicegrip on the girl. "Marinette, what were you thinking? Why'd you stop-"

His voice died out as he followed her frantic gaze.

Marinette stared at the bundles of fabric now spilled all over the ground with a tire track running right through the white one at the top, her eyes somehow even more hollow than before.

Chat jumped as she flopped to the ground right next to them.

"Marinette? Oh crap, are you okay?" He crouched to check her face, reaching to brush her bangs out of her eyes. She looked up at him before closing them.

"Just leave me here with my dirty fabric. I'm done, that's it, I've been sewing non-stop for days." She waved his hand off with a notably red-tipped hand of her own.

He could only watch his distraught (but physically unhurt) friend and crack up in relief. Marinette looked up at him with a glare before he offered his hand and she took it, standing up slowly and brushed herself off.

"I'm actually surprised you remember my name." She managed to mutter with the little sanity she seemed to have left.

Wait, _what_?

Chat stiffened, only now realizing he was calling her by her name _when he didn't know her as Chat Noir_. Back at it again with the talking thoughtlessly thing, Adrien!

The metal tip of his tail scraped noisily against the asphalt as it twitched nervously. He didn't even realize he was avoiding her gaze until she grabbed his chin and turned it roughly to force him to look at her displeased face.

"Really, after flirting with me at my doorstep and me saving your tail before we drowned on a sinking ship, you don't remember me? For someone so super you don't have a good memory."

A small gear sputtered back to life in the back of his head, bringing back the memory of the Evillustrator incident a couple months after he got his Miraculous.

That's right...Ladybug was busy, and so she asked him to watch over -

Chat stared at the girl in front of him, ignoring the way she waved a hand in front of his eyes just to get another look at her. No wonder her presence was so easy to settle into, he actually had met her and talked to her before! It wasn't much time to get to know her for that one mission, but he knew how she was teasing him with her fake praise and swooning, and how she was a quick thinker and calm under pressure (though she must be under a whole lot to be this much of a space case lately).

She gave up on trying to bring him back to earth, now bending to pick up her fallen materials. The irritation she carried earlier came back up in her voice. "Man, I can't believe this. My tools broke, my stuff got run over, he wasn't there-"

That comment caught his attention.

"What's with the long face, Marinette? Looking for someone there at the cafe? A cute study buddy not show up or something?" He grinned wide, laughing to himself as he pretended to look at his nails (well, claws).

He wasn't prepared for the way she looked at him and then away again, deflating even further. The girl's face was somber as she pulled at the ends of her hair, bringing them up with her fingertips to cover her mouth.

She sighed.

"...something like that, I guess."

His grin fell right off. Marinette took in his surprised face with a huff of a laugh before lowering her hands to reorganize the dirty fabric shoved under one arm. Chat didn't offer anything to say, so she continued to fish around her overstuffed bag and pulled out a lanyard of keys that she wrapped around her hand.

"I've just been so stressed lately, so the middle of the school week is something I look forward to since I get to see my friend. But he's not there, so there wasn't any point in me fighting for a table right now."

Chat continued to soak in this new information in awe, still standing dumbfounded as she unlocked her bike from the rack nearby and loaded her purse and fabric into the basket. Her hands settled on the handlebars but she didn't climb on. Fingers tightened over the grips for a moment, loosening then tightening again until they turned white. Marinette turned back to look at the hero.

"Hey, I-"

"-Can I walk you home?" Chat blurted out.

An uncomfortable warmth spread across his face (thankfully) under his mask as she only looked at him in confusion.

What did you _just_ say, Adrien? About the talking thoughtlessly thing?

"You nearly got mowed over by a horde of bikes. As a hero it's my duty to at least make sure you get home in one piece."

There you go. By now he must have used up half his luck since he was able to cover himself each time.

Marinette snorted. "It's like 3 blocks down I'll be fine. If you really want to, then okay, sure."

The walk was nothing but awkward silence. Both of them kept their gazes to the ground until she found a parking spot for her bike and gathered her things.

"Well, this is my stop."

At least she didn't lie about the distance, it really was only three blocks from the cafe.

Again she fiddled with cleaning her fabric off, not moving from her spot.

"Is...everything okay, Chat Noir?" Her voice was hesitant and she didn't meet his eyes. "I've seen the pictures on the Ladyblog, both you and Ladybug look really unhappy lately."

He didn't know what to say to counteract that. Her eyes flicked up to the top of his head and narrowed - damn his ears and tail having a mind of their own.

"Normally it's my best friend that handles the talk time and I just blurt everything out to her, but I can at least give you an ear to hear you out." Fingers picked out the rocks caught in the fabric. She narrowed her eyes at the mess. "If...you're not busy that is. I don't know what hero stuff you have to do tonight. But if I'm busy talking to you at least I won't die working on commissions tonight."

Chat mulled this over. He could accept and spend some time with his friend, or he could continue on his way. Marinette was at least familiar enough with him that she would invite him into her apartment.

Truth be told, the anxiety he's been nursing for the last few weeks was getting to him finally. And honestly, there wasn't anyone else he could go to as Chat Noir to talk about anything besides Ladybug.

"Well, if the damsel is in distress, your knight is here to distract you." He gave her a dramatic bow.

"That's more like it." She smiled at him before leading the way up a stairwell and letting him in.

It wasn't a big place, but it was definitely comfortable. The air smelled like baked goods, which he trailed to a short stack of boxes on the kitchen counter just a few feet away from the door.

As he stepped into the living space, he took in all the new information. A giant painting was taped to the wall behind the worn out couch, across from it was a tv with a couple video game consoles hooked up (he spotted the Ultra Mega Strike III case sitting next to the controllers, he had to play her sometime!) and a whiteboard on the wall next to the door had random information about due dates and events.

More interesting was the giant sheets of butcher paper taped up wherever there was free room; one had a tally score with various names, though Marinette had everyone beat by a landslide, another two were filled with quotes, and one had a bucket list with some boxes checked off.

Marinette already shucked off her boots and made her way to the kitchen. "Does the cat have any preferences for tea, or do you want milk in a saucer?"

"Ca-mew-mile would be purr-fect, thanks."

Her back was turned but he knew she was rolling her eyes. Chat grinned in victory.

He stepped over to the stairs leading to the loft and looked at the various strings running up the wall at an angle with the stairs. Each string was littered with post it notes forming a timeline of some sort; he couldn't read them unless he was right in front of them due to the sloppy handwriting.

They were all… akuma names?

Marinette appeared behind him after a moment holding a tray with two steaming mugs and a plate of various pastries.

"Can you believe you've fought that many akuma? My roommate likes to keep track of that kind of stuff so this is almost the whole list, she thinks." She looked almost amused as Chat realized the strings continued after the stairs ended and followed the wall until one of the door frames got in its way.

Marinette led the way up the stairs to the further room down the loft. The door was already ajar and all he saw was pink everywhere. The girl elbowed him to keep moving and they both entered her cluttered room.

She pushed him to sit down in a beanbag near the door and put the tray on the short table in front of him. Plopping down on her bed, she laid down on her stomach facing him, propping her head up and leaning on her elbows.

"Alright, honesty hour starts now. What's on your mind, Chat Noir?"

Chat looked around, bewildered. "...Why are you doing all this for me?"

"I'm…" She bit her lip and turned her eyes up in thought before carefully saying her next words. "I've just...always been unable to talk to people about some things. So I know how it feels to be fighting with y-yourself over secrets. And it's important to at least air them out somehow. So if that's all I can do to help you, I can give you the best pastries in France and an ear to listen."

"Trust me, being a hero's shrink would be a lot less interesting than anyone would think." He snorted into his mug before taking a sip of his tea.

" _Chat_."

"It's true, I don't have any secret saucy rendezvous going on or anything. You're the only person I talked to all day."

"You wanted to come with me and there's obviously something wrong. You needed company. So what's up?"

Chat watched his friend carefully, now suddenly unsure of himself.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone? Or laugh at me?"

"It depends, did you do something really dumb?" She laughed jokingly, but it died in her throat when he didn't go along with it.

Chat picked up a cookie and held it in his teeth. He took it back out, knowing there wasn't any point in biding time about the subject. "I...I don't know. Ladybug has been avoiding me and I'm not sure why and I don't know how to approach any of this."

"...maybe she's been avoiding everyone and you just don't know it?"

Chat curled his head between his legs, the warmth of the mug was comforting against his forehead as his elbows propped up on his knees, hiding his face from view.

"I'm...used to people close to me shutting me out." He heard her shift on her bed but didn't want to check how she had reacted. He continued.

"So I kept biting my tongue like I always did before. As a kid, I accepted it and tried to go along with them because maybe, if I let them do what they wanted, they would someday open up again when whatever shut them off passed. And it never happened. So I need to do _something_ , but I don't know what." Chat Noir swallowed against the lump forming in his throat, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm...scared. I'm scared of losing her like I lost my family. I've always respected the distance she kept between us, and now that she's finally let me just a little closer inside I'm scared that she thinks it was a mistake."

He flinched when a hand hovered over his head, choosing instead to rest comfortingly on his arm.

"I've just been wondering all night. I used my mask for years to run away from my problems. Is...does it make sense to think she's doing the same by hiding behind her civilian identity?" He raised his head enough to peek at his companion.

Marinette looked at him in surprise, but her mouth seemed unable to form words. She closed it, nodding her head for him to continue.

Through the mirror on the back of her bedroom door, he could still the two of them, her gaze following his to see their reflections. The sight made him laugh a little at how ridiculous this scene would be to anyone else.

Even with the awkwardness, it somehow still felt natural, in a way he couldn't quite put a finger on.

"I used to tell myself all the time when I first got these powers that this was the true me, and my real identity was a fake. But that's not true."

"Just because you became someone new, doesn't mean that you stopped being your old self." She whispered.

"Exactly. There's two sides to me, and there's two sides to her, even if I didn't get to meet the other one yet. We can't be superheroes all the time. I shouldn't expect her to always know what to do, and I spent the last week just moping about her not talking to me when I should have tried to find out why and asked her. We're partners. We need each other equally as much."

She shifted with a sigh to lean her head against the wall behind her. "You already wear your heart on your sleeve, you know. Talking just makes it not fair. You're just so incredibly kind, how do you even do it?" She muttered.

Her voice was gentler than he ever heard it before, filling him with the same warmth his first sip of tea did without it ebbing away and instead settling in his chest comfortably. He relished in the way it spread to his limbs, up his neck and on his face, pulling a wide smile as he closed his eyes and nestled into the beanbag.

This feeling was familiar. This was his first few weeks living with Nino and adjusting to his new hold on his life. This was that moment when they were walking their poor bikes home at 2am after the back wheels and a seat were stolen off of them after visiting a student club event. This was them excitedly cheering over Eurovision and getting multiple noise complaints in one night. This was just as warm and somehow just as new as it was the first time.

He hadn't had many of these moments in his life, but it's just one of those that the simple realization comes to you:

This is _a friend_.

This is someone who wants you in your life and you want them in yours just as much. And all of a sudden, you feel that weight on you. It's heavy and strange but it comes with that fire inside you that wants to put in the effort needed to support that weight with them.

Something like bashfulness made his voice thick in his throat. "I do it for her." He decided. "I still don't understand why you're doing this for me. You barely even know me."

"I told you, you're easy to read like a book." She sat up again, raising her mug from her lap and taking a slow sip. "And you need to give yourself more credit. It's obvious Ladybug cares a lot about you, you just need to give her a minute to breathe probably."

"I know. I just...I want to know that she's okay. If there's anything I can do, if it's something I did…" he pressed his lips against his arm, cutting off that train of thought.

"No."

He looked up at Marinette's suddenly alarmed face, surprising herself with the outburst. Chat's body became more alert as he realized she was shaking.

"It's nothing you did wrong. She's just not sure about a lot of things and it's just causing her a lot of stress and - ugh wait, I can't, um, I can't speak for her I mean, but I think she would just - what I mean to say is that-" she suddenly broke her eyes away from him and wrung her hands. "T-that Ladybug should have said at least something so you wouldn't blame yourself, I-I think. She probably owes you an apology for it too, though I shouldn't speak as if I knew what she thinks..." Her voice petered out slowly until she was staring at the floor, red-faced.

The gears were turning in his head as she sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence and throwing her arms around all over the place in panic.

They finally clicked into place.

"You."

Marinette froze, hesitantly pointing at herself. "...Me?"

He was so sure of it.

"You...all this time, it was you!"

His grin grew as her nerves grew visibly worse. Chat inched in closer and he poked her on the nose.

"You were the informant for Ladybug this whole time!"

Marinette froze in place, seemingly paler than the sheets of paper scattered across the wall next to her. Time was still for just a breath as she processed what he said, slowly blinking at him before bringing her hands to rest in her lap. She let out a breath and ducked her face down, letting her bangs cover her face.

"Oh." He could hear the nerves still shaking her breath as she giggled. "Yeah, you caught me."

She looked back up at him and Chat froze, suddenly realizing -

"Oh, I also don't know who you are in real life, if that's what you're scared about! Ladybug just asked me to deliver the notes since I go to the cafe all the time!" Her hands waved rapidly in denial.

He didn't get the chance to register that relief as they both heard the front door open and close loudly.

"Marinette? Your shoes are here, are you home?"

Marinette jumped to her feet at the same time that Chat did. Frantically, she looked around her room before settling on the open window.

"You have to go. Now."

She pulled his arm and he managed to scramble onto the desk below the window. He pulled her hand to his lips and murmured a thanks before footsteps sounded up the stairs, coming closer.

"Mari? You got some explaining to do, girl - I heard you ran into Chat earlier! Why didn't you text me?"

Marinette took back her hand and shoved Chat out the window, immediately slamming the window shut and barely missed catching his feet.

 _Crack_!

He yelled out in pain as his body swung down and his head collided with the side of the building.

Hands braced against the wall while he gathered his bearings and waited for the pain and the spots in his vision to subside. He realized he was hanging upside down in mid-air, trailing his tail up to where the metal tip was still caught on the inside of Marinette's window and her back pressed against it, hiding him from view.

Just lovely. Perfect.

He looked in the alleyway below him, at least thankful his luck caught him somewhere out of plain sight. There were no fire escapes, but there was a recycling dumpster just a foot to his right.

Chat grimaced as soon as he realized he would have to detransform to get out of this mess. He only had two options: the dumpster or the concrete. He was hanging from the second floor, but he was more willing to bet his aim was better than his landing skills from his current position.

"Damn it. Ugh, Plagg - claws in!"

Cardboard, he immediately learned, was pointy and not comfortable padding and you can get paper cuts from it.

* * *

Marinette came into the cafe with someone the following night.

Adrien had his back turned until he heard her voice and a very familiar other one, which caused his neck to snap around instantly.

"Oh my God." He knew there was a ridiculous grin on his face as the pair approached the counter. "You're Alya, you run the Ladyblog!"

The redhead looked to him with an eyebrow raised, laughing. "Yup, in the flesh!" She turned back to Marinette who seemed to have just realized bringing her friend was a mistake. "So that's him, huh?"

"Yeah, that's him." She dead panned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Marinette ignored the question. "So where's the new drink? The board is empty."

Adrien smirked at her, causing her to frown further. "Oh, I'll get to that in a minute. It's been busy tonight because of second round midterms coming up and everyone coming here to study, so I haven't had a break to write it."

There was one table left that they were able to grab near the counter. Adrien bit the inside of his mouth when he saw Marinette pull out the fabric from yesterday that it wasn't completely cleaned off. Alya, however, still seemed more interested in talking than studying.

"Soooo, Adrien, you're the person supporting Marinette's caffeine problem? Our apartment is always filled with cups that seem to match this place's lately."

He snickered as he was working on another drink for a customer. "You caught the lipstick on her collar, I'm the other woman."

"I sure as hell did. I'm her best friend, I have exclusive rights to shit on her life and you're taking that role from me when she's here by how it sounds."

"To be fair, I did earn her friendship by paying her to draw in free drinks." His head finally peaked over the counter to see Alya smirking and Marinette nearly pressing her face into the cloth she was now hand stitching in frustration.

"Oh no, it's the same with me. We have a deal that she can buy my silence for 80 croissants." Alya grinned in a way that told him the deal had been made at least once before.

"Never mind, I'm not friends with either of you anymore. You get along way too well." Marinette muttered, defeated.

He let his grin grow before someone came to the counter again. "And, oh, guess what? Just our luck, Marinette here has a real life reference to draw from for this week's drink."

Alya slammed her hands down on the table. "No way. It's Lady Wifi?!" Her eyes were wide with excitement like someone just gave her Ladybug with a bow on top.

He paused as he punched in the order, talking again after he went to make it. "Well, it's Latté Wifi to you. But yeah, leave it to Marinette to bring you along this week, I usually leave the drinks a surprise for her to find out when she comes in." He crossed his arms smugly, watching the horrified look on Marinette's face mix with a couple other emotions as he pulled the chalk out of his apron pouch and held it out.

She's going to despise him after tonight. But he's willing to live with that with the way he and Alya were getting along - at least he's not the only one ending up on the blacklist.

"Friendship was a mistake." Marinette grumbled as she walked over and roughly grabbed the box of chalk from his hand. She walked around to the other side of the counter and climbed up the step stool.

"Hey. Hey Mari." The girl turned reluctantly, grimacing as she saw her friend half sprawled across the table top.

"Draw me like one of your supervillains." She waggled her eyebrows seductively.

"Alya. Put your ass back in that seat or so help me God-" she raised the chalk in her hand threateningly.

Alya raised her hands in mock defeat and sat back down properly, pulling out her laptop to start working.

Adrien smiled back up at the artist, who was now grumbling to herself but still making just as much of an effort as she did with the Bubbler drawing.

"I swear, if this wasn't for the blog or for the cafe I would…"

He leaned on the counter next to him, flicking his head to get his bangs out of the way. "So, that's why you can put up with me."

"Unfortunately."

He simply smiled and went to work making the drinks for her and Alya.

When she tapped out to switch places, he looked up at the villainess charging her phone with the cup.

"Before you ask," Marinette interjected, "your shop doesn't have a logo so I just borrowed Chat Noir's for the cup sleeve since it's a paw print."

He handed her the drinks and then climbed up to write the description: 'Villain of the Week: Latté Wifi - raspberry mocha latté with a zebra drizzle.'

It was extremely busy that night. Adrien wished he had time to talk with Alya more about the blog and to figure out if she had any leads on his identity, remembering the complaints Ladybug usually had about the reporter.

"No, Mari, you finish that hand. I can put it in for you."

He looked up to see Alya stick a wad of paper into the suggestion box. She lingered opposite of him from the coffee machines and asked him a couple questions about his process for coming up with the drinks. She was planning on writing a couple entries for her blog and even one for the campus paper.

The night went on bustling as more people came in desperate to stay up studying and so his interview was cut short but she promised she'd get a hold of him later to continue. Maybe he could ask Marinette if they could all hang out during the break or something, he thought as he emptied out the box once everyone left, including the pair of girls who took off an hour before closing.

(He slipped Marinette a cup of the scrapped version of the Latte Wifi before she left - rooibos tea latte with vanilla and dark chocolate nibs - assuring her that yes, she should sleep and this will help with that.)

Adrien found the note with her scribbled signature on it, finding another smaller note folded inside of it.

 **[Hint #4: Sometimes she gets too focused on things that she doesn't think about the consequences or how it affects others.]**

Adrien rolled his eyes. Well that's an understatement he knew for years now. One of the things he found both frustrating and endearing was her way of focusing which resulted in some funny situations in battle, but it's also what saved their skin with every Lucky Charm.

Even more so… this hint might mean she's going to be ready to talk soon. The thought filled his stomach with a more paralyzing anxiety that twisted it into knots. Adrien leaned against the counter and breathed deeply, pulling his thoughts away from worry and focusing back on the anomaly in the note.

He opened the smaller piece of paper folded inside, seeing a different set of handwriting.

 **[She thinks your messy hair is hot and you have a cute butt!]**

Adrien was now very confused.

A little happier, flattered even, but _confused_.

He stored the slips of paper in his backpack and locked up for the night, now completely baffled at the situation he needed to untangle.

* * *

Ladybug scheduled a patrol once Saturday night rolled around, and she was insistent that he came once he said he was free, again not giving him the chance to ask anything else before hanging up.

He met her on top of one of the taller buildings on campus that had a balcony vantage point of the entire campus. She didn't hear him arrive, too busy digging in her bag and muttering swears under her breath.

He forced his face into a smile. "Is everything okay, my Lady?"

The bag noisily fell against the rooftop when she jumped in surprise. Grasping her chest, she turned to him with an expression he couldn't read except for her glossy eyes.

"Oh. Uh. Yes. Well, no!" She tugged at her pigtails and let out a groan. "No. I had a plan and I forgot the damned things…"

"I can come back later if you're not ready?" Chat took a step back as he said this, stuttering his grip on the ground when fear shot across her face again and she reached out.

He sighed and ruffled the back of his head. They stood there frozen for another moment before he took another step back to turn around and sit on the ground. Blindly, he pat the roof behind him and reached out his hand. Nausea swelled up in his throat as he waited, his heart hammering painfully in his chest.

Chat Noir breathed in a shaky breath.

Her hand grasped his, intertwining their fingers as she sat down and leaned her back on his. Her grip turned almost painfully tight even through his protective suit.

"I'm sorry."

Her voice was breaking.

"I can't tell you everything yet because I honestly have a lot going on right now and I still haven't made sense of it. But I'm sorry, Chat. I'm so sorry I locked you out and I'm sorry I ran away-"

His free hand that he was leaning on slid back just enough to cover hers. She stopped to breathe. Her voice was soft, more solid now.

"I panicked but that doesn't excuse that I should have at least said something and not avoided you."

He shooshed softly, leaning his head back until it touched her navy hair. So badly he wanted to turn his head to look at her, to press his lips against her head in comfort - something. That uneasy weight still held in the air above them.

"And I'm sorry I didn't try to reach out to you sooner, my Lady. Whatever has you messed up, you needed someone. I was too busy wallowing in my own assumptions to ask if I could do anything for you."

Her hair bunched up as she slid her head against his in a small nod.

"I promise I'll tell you soon. Thanks for being so patient with me."

"Don't thank me. We can't be expected to be brave superheroes all the time. You're allowed some mistakes. " He had a feeling his small smile was now mirrored on her face.

"No, I guess we can't be."

They were silent, feeling each other's warmth and letting their breaths sync in time. The weight became lighter.

"Oh! By the way, did you mean to leave two notes this week?"

Ladybug looked him in the eyes for the first time in a long while, which he would have been happier about if she didn't look so confused.

"No…? I said it myself, once per week. Why did you think there was two?"

Chat pulled the two slips of paper out of his bag and handed them to her. Her brow furrowed in concentration until she read the smaller note. Slowly, her face morphed from inquisitive to downright mortified and he could just barely hear the ghost of a screech escape her throat.

"Ladybug…?" The expression that now morphed and took over her face was one he didn't see often. He was thankful for that, because it absolutely terrified him.

"I'm going to get her for this." He shivered at how low her voice was.

"Please don't hurt my friend, she keeps me sane during work."

She burst out laughing at his plea.


	5. The Espress-er of Two Tea-vils

Wednesday morning that week, once he got out of class, Adrien got a text from an unknown number.

 _[Hey Adrien! It's Alya. Marinette hasn't been home in three days, do you mind checking up on her for me? I'm a little trapped in the newspaper office myself right now.]_

He instantly mashed the call option on his screen.

"What do you mean she hasn't been home in three days?!"

The girl just snorted over the line, realizing his panic. "You didn't know that art and design students have their final projects due a week before finals? The girl holed herself up in the A&D building to finish everything early for once."

Well, at least he got the relief she wasn't actually missing. Even though this was a normal thing for anyone in those majors to the point that the campus installed showers in the bathrooms there, Alya explained, Marinette gets a little too focused sometimes and forgets that she's a human with basic human needs.

"Just bring her one of your coffees and some food. She always goes back in the middle of the day for the chai one, so that should work. I'm stuck in the campus basement since the newspaper is running behind this week. I'll call Nathaniel, he works at the front desk and will let you into the studios. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Thanks, byeeee~!"

Eventually, Adrien was walking onto campus from downtown with two Chai Noirs and two bentos from his favorite Japanese place nearby. He balanced those with another bag of stuff from a convenience store while he checked his phone to find the art and design building.

As he crossed the grassy quad, Adrien stuck his hand inside the bag to check if the food was still warm. It was still okay, but he had to be quick since the building was on the other side of campus-

He bumped into a group of people who stopped in the middle of the walkway. They didn't pay him notice, instead continuing to stare up at a figure standing on one of the balconies of the student center. A translucent green haze surrounded her, falling away with gravity down over the railing of the balcony to the ground like a waterfall. Her face was obscured by a oxygen mask, and Hawk Moth's insignia lit up around her eyes.

Damn it. Marinette's basic human needs are going to have to wait.

'At least she's safe in her bunker of a studio.' He thought to himself as he hid the bag of food and the coffee carrier in a nearby tree before bolting off to find a hiding spot to transform in.

Chat Noir returned only a minute later, finding the villain on a balcony closer to the ground. Haze, now white like fog, still billowed out from her back. One pitch of his staff brought him up to the rooftop above her.

"Hey, I know it's almost finals, but who invited the four horsemen?" Chat called out before hearing a zipping noise behind him. He turned to greet Ladybug who landed next to him. "Speak of the devil, here's one of the seven virtues." The line earned him only a roll of her eyes.

The villain made a muffled noise before removing the mask over her mouth. Her voice was strained as if the air had been squeezed out of her. "The name is Di Streste, not Pestilence! And all of you will suffer like I have been this whole year, then I'll take your miraculouses!"

The akuma unhooked the hoses connected to her chest and attached it to the gun on her arm. She kept it pointed at the heroes before switching aim to the crowd of onlookers below them and fired before either of the heroes could even react.

A white haze spread quickly over the bystanders who screamed as they tried to escape. A number of them fell to the ground one at a time, others still trying to get away.

Di Streste hopped away to a taller part of the building, switching the hose attached to their gun.

"Come and get me." The muffled voice challenged, the villain raising her weapon before jumping across the gap to run across the building rooftops.

The duo chased right after, bounding easily to catch up, but even while on the run Di Streste kept her spray gun down and let loose a cloud of haze that the wind swept up and brought right into Chat Noir's path.

"Chat!"

He felt the yo-yo wind around his waist before tugging him backwards, where he landed on his rear at Ladybug's side.

"Chat, are you okay?" Ladybug crouched in front of him, checking his face.

He stood up cautiously. His head was clear, he didn't feel anything wrong with his limbs. By now he's pretty sure he would know if he was being controlled…

"I guess that stuff doesn't work on us, La...La…La-aaaaachooooo!"

His partner took a defensive step back, looking only confused when he sneezed.

Oh no.

His throat was suddenly itchy and swelling up. The light now burned his eyes, forcing him to squint.

He knew this feeling all too well.

"What the hell! She gave me my allergies!" Even his voice was suddenly scratchy.

Ladybug cast her yo-yo and he followed. They both knew he could deal with it since this happened with Mr. Pigeon, so after his initial irritation they were brought back to focus. The duo cornered the villain soon enough and Ladybug was able to snatch the spray gun off of Di Streste's arm with one flick of her wrist.

Ladybug wasn't prepared for how the enemy plugged all the loose tubes once connected to the gun back into her own chest and blew a cloud of haze that engulfed the pair of heroes from her mouth.

He heard his partner cry out a swear as Di Streste shoved past them and ran off.

Ladybug stumbled into his line of sight, catching herself against a wall. Two seconds was as long as she could stay standing, slowly slumping down it.

Chat was at her side, helping her up again and leaning her body against him.

She was warm. She was too warm that he could feel it radiating off of her.

He tried to press his hand against her forehead but the material of his suit dulled the temperature. A growl of irritation left his throat as he tried to think through his stuffy head.

"Sorry, my Lady." He muttered quickly before rubbing his cheek against hers like a cat, then pressing his forehead against hers to get a better sense of her condition, skin on skin.

She was uncomfortably warm and sweaty to the touch, but everything just seemed to just suggest a fever.

At least her recent exhaustion wasn't magnified. A sluggish Ladybug was better than one knocked out cold.

"Ah-choo!"

Oh no.

He grimaced, hesitating to open his eyes that had just automatically shut.

He did not just sneeze right on Ladybug's face.

Please, all the luck that be, he did not just spit all over the love of his life.

A hand roughly shoved against his face as he felt her struggle in his arms to get away with a disgusted whine.

Yep. He just did. Neat.

"I am so, so, sorry."

He helped her back up to lean against the wall, then kept his distance as she reached up and called her Lucky Charm.

An ice pack with velcro straps landed in her hands, which she instantly strapped around her head like a headband with a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's get her while we're still standing."

They found the akuma in the library courtyard, still gunless. She now was breathing out haze like a dragon into the open doorway, trapping everyone trying to escape.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat ran ahead of Ladybug, swiping his claws right through the mess of tubes that ran out from the akuma's back and plugged back into the front of her chest.

This undid the villain, who turned but couldn't even wheeze out the cry that her lips formed as she twisted her body. Gaping like a fish, she clawed at her chest and then her back, pulling away a deep purple inhaler amidst the frayed tubing and throwing it at their feet.

Chat Noir's blood ran cold as he realized she just threw her akumatized item at them because she now couldn't _breathe_. The haze leaked out from the cut tubes all over her, and she only looked at them in desperation.

Ladybug acted first, stomping on the object and quickly purifying the akuma. The waves of light soon washed over everything as she tossed the ice pack in the air. Chat's condition cleared as did his partner's, and they both helped up the akuma victim who was released from the evil magic.

There wasn't much time, the beeping of their miraculouses warned they had a minute left, and they only shared a glance at each other before taking off in opposite directions.

Once the coast looked clear, Adrien ran back to the quad and spotted the bags still perched safely in the tree. He picked up one of the coffees - it was the same temperature as he left it. Well, if everything was cold by the time he found her, he at least had an excuse.

The art and design building took a while to find, hidden away with other subject buildings he never visited besides for random general education classes. As Adrien made it through the doors, he wasn't the only one who did a double-take.

Oh. Hi there, Evillustrator. Long time, no see.

The redhead, working on something absentmindedly at his laptop, faltered in his greeting when he saw Adrien standing in the lobby. Adrien had a faint sinking feeling that he might seem familiar too. He cleared his throat.

"Alya called, I'm here with stuff for Marinette?" He held up the drink carrier and food to help with the weak question.

"Right. Sorry." He dug around a desk drawer and handed him a keycard. "Studio 8, she always uses that one."

Adrien awkwardly took the keycard with a muttered "thanks", ignoring how he felt the other's eyes still watching his back until he climbed up the stairwell and turned to enter the hallway.

Reminder for later: ask Ladybug if he's really that identifiable outside the mask.

Maybe it was time to switch to a different shorter haircut after all, not just because he constantly had to shake his long bangs out of his face recently.

This was one of the older buildings on campus, with thick walls that blocked out signal from almost any phone. He was about to ask Alya if Marinette knew he was coming, but he was already almost there by the looks of it, and turning around to leave the building would only give Nathaniel another look at him.

The corridor stretched down as far as the eye could see, walls sterile white and reminiscent of a hospital ward, almost. Adrien repressed a shiver and found the door labeled with stenciled spray paint.

The lock beeped as he inserted the card, and the click that followed echoed down the hallway.

"Marinette? You still alive?" He called as he started to pull the door open.

"Adrie-EEEEEEEENOOOO!"

Adrien jumped as he heard a dull thud. He shoved the door open and practically leaped in the room in at her cry, only to see papers fluttering to the floor and Marinette on top of a table by the wall with half her body leaning out the open window.

She craned her head up to look at him. Her whole appearance was in shambles, her face only reading regret.

Her voice was filled with more horror than he's ever heard in anyone before. Life and blood had completely drained from her face, leaving only a husk of the friend he knew.

"...I just shoved my portfolio out the window." She nearly choked out with a sob.

Marinette looked down once again through the window and Adrien had to grab her leg because somehow he already knew she was seriously contemplating leaping right after it.

This was confirmed when he offered to retrieve it and she tried to wriggle out of his grasp while violently protesting.

The food and coffee were cold by the time she came back with the portfolio carefully clenched shut against her chest. He didn't know what else he could do to comfort her except to hug her, keeping quiet as she let out tears of relief that her work could still be salvaged.

* * *

She was mostly sane by the time she dropped in like usual the next night. He welcomed her with a new drink with no art needed (not that he'd make her draw the bulky villain anyway).

The board read: "Villain of the Week: Di Citrussed - an herbal citrus tea with a vitamin c boost." The drink carried a big shield, and Adrien added made-up stat boost numbers next to it.

He placed another glass of the drink in front of her on the table as people began to leave for closing time. Marinette certainly looked a lot more alive since yesterday, now smiling back at him with some warmth in her cheeks.

"I needed this, thanks. Some other people came back into the building after the akuma attack still sick later on since they probably were before the akuma came along." Her nose scrunched up in disgust. "Jeeze, you'd think by now there's no one left in this city to turn evil, though being in college doesn't help."

This was a thought that had passed through his mind before; once in a while he would recognize customers and classmates who had been akuma victims. The student who always got to his math class early to snag a lefty seat was akumatized last quarter into a giant firefly monster. A guy who got on the same bus stop as him in the mornings was an akuma who made people's control of their bodies invert like a controller. Even Di Stressed he realized this morning when getting a book was the girl working at the checkout counter of the library.

An unsettling thought came up in his head. He was sure about the answer, but his twisting gut wanted to make sure.

"Have...you ever been akumatized, Marinette?"

She made a noise in surprise, but answered quickly.

"Of course not!" She paused, catching herself. "Well - I mean, no, I haven't. The bad guys can't take me that easily! If I wasn't all evilized when I dropped my portfolio, I think I can make it through anything."

Marinette laughed a little forcefully before it died out. She watched him with a calculating gaze, lips drawn thin.

"You look gloomy today. What's wrong, having girl problems or something?"

Adrien bit his cheek thankfully before a quip could come out about how she should know. He was a little thankful for her sensing the need to change topics. The thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind where he hoped they wouldn't stew further.

They still did. But he's willing to take the distraction.

He wilted dramatically against the counter behind him, not even able to stay frowning long enough to complete the look. "You've got me. Day and night I've been plagued by affection, I feel as if I may perish."

"Jeeze Romeo, are you that in love with the girl or something?" She took a long sip from her cup, rolling her eyes.

"Since I first met her, yeah." He said simply, smiling.

He loves Ladybug.

This was an ordinary fact of his life at this point. Just like his order at the campus coffee house was an iced coffee no matter the weather and how some of his favorite jackets smelled like Camembert no matter how many times he washed it.

No matter what new things he learned about Ladybug, he couldn't help but love them.

Marinette promptly snorted tea out of her nose, choking on the rest that wasn't expelled out of her mouth.

Adrien rescued the knit hat she was working on from the spilled drink running all over the table - she's had enough bad luck with her work last week - and handed her a clean rag before wiping down the table with another.

"How can you sound so sure about that?" her voice rasped, muffled by the towel still covering her nose and mouth.

He shrugged. "Our relationship is pretty complicated. There's a lot I don't know about her or what she thinks of me. But the things I do know, I love. My friends are so sick of me talking about it, so I'll spare you the tale of our star-crossed love." He finished with a chuckle before taking the other rag from her and returned behind the counter.

Adrien finished loading the dishwasher and came back to the counter when Marinette came up to the counter, watching him. "But if you don't know her that well, how can you say that you love her?"

He was surprised by the concern all over her face. She really seemed invested in his intentions. A thoughtful hum rose out of him as he turned to clean the machines.

"Well, maybe 'don't know her that well' isn't right. We've been friends for years but she's pretty protective of herself, which I get. It's the small things that she doesn't have to say, like how she's making a big decision in her head when she bites her lip, or how she's really headstrong and stubborn and it gets her into trouble a lot. Small things like that you learn just by spending time with them make up the parts of her that I love."

Marinette's cheeks were flushed red, as if embarrassed for him for his gushing. He continued, unabashed, smiling more as he began to recollect.

"And even then when we first met, she was so unsure of herself but she had the strength in her to be brave. I helped a little with that, sure, but she was so amazing then. That's when I knew it."

He shoo'd Marinette off of the counter so he could finish cleaning it. She didn't bother with banter, just staring at him in confusion.

"You're impossible."

"You're just jealous. Don't tell me the princess hasn't been swept off her feet yet."

Adrien meant that as a joke, but his eyes widened when her face practically glowed a red that could compete with Ladybug's suit. He leaned forward on the wet counter, elbows slipping before he caught his balance and cradled his face in his hands.

"Oh? So you have been, huh?" A wide grin spread on his face.

She huffed and turned away, crossing her arms.

"I am not discussing this with you right now."

"Come onnnnn. Just tell me a couple things about them. It's only fair after I did all that gushing."

Marinette went to go stuff her things in her bag without another word. Adrien shrugged and turned back to continue cleaning when he heard her voice drift from her booth.

"He's kind."

"Hm?" Adrien turned back to see her paused in the middle of sticking her sketchbook in her bag, staring at the wall.

"He's kind and he's ridiculously sweet and perceptive. And he's also the biggest, most oblivious doofus I've ever met." He could hear the smile in her voice. "Now can you finish closing up so we can go home?"

There wasn't much left to do, so by the next half hour, he was set to go once he emptied the suggestion box. While he didn't see Marinette stick a note in today, he noticed the usual signature on one of the slips.

 **[Hint #5: One of her favorite outfits you've worn in a shoot was that dark green jacket with the button up high collar in the hood. No wonder the color looked great on you, looking in hindsight.]**

Adrien was locking the door when his hand reached for hers before she could turn away to get her bike. The thoughts became words before he could stop them.

"Hey, Mari? Can you promise me something?"

"Hm?" Her hand fidgeted when his thumb stroked the back of her hand, but she didn't pull away.

He chewed his lip, fighting off the imaginary scenario of what he was about to say. "Promise me. Promise me you won't ever let yourself get akumatized."

"...you know I can't do that." Marinette responded after some hesitation. "I don't know how Hawk Moth does it, but I've never heard of anyone resisting him. Besides, everyone's okay after Ladybug and Chat Noir save the day. It's never gone wrong."

The thought kept pushing to the front of his mind. He knew, at this point, that if he knowingly had to fight Marinette, he wouldn't be able to do it. Not when she's only shown kindness to him. Not when she let a near stranger dump his worries out on her table over tea.

Not when he couldn't help her just as much as she had for him.

People had been akumatized over the smallest things or the most devastating things. She's shared enough with him this whole quarter that he was sure enough that she would share her burdens too if she needed someone.

His father always said he was too emotional, too easily swayed to believe things with his heart. Adrien felt so much affection for his friend that he had to at least try to make sure he could do all he could to prevent it.

"Promise me then that if anything bad comes up, big or small, you talk to someone about it. I'm here for you if you ever need an ear."

He wanted to say more. He wanted to thank her for everything she's done for him on both sides of the mask. He pressed his lips together firmly instead.

Marinette looked back at him in surprise. Her wide blue eyes flickered over every inch of his face in a way that made him have to suppress a shiver.

"I'm going to the noodle house before heading home since they're still open for a couple hours...do you want to come with me for dinner?"

Her body language was nonchalant but his eyes noticed the way her fingers dipped into her bag and fidgeted with a zipper inside.

Still at it trying to make him feel better. Damn, he really was thankful to have met her.

He smiled back, twirling the keys on his fingers. "Dinner sounds great."

* * *

Week 9 brought the akuma Indecision, who completely wreaked havoc in downtown. Adrien was on his way home during his break between classes when the villain jumped down onto the street and shot a beam at every traffic light in the crossroad before leaping off again.

Adrien watched as Ladybug followed quickly behind, chasing the villain off to another building. The bus driver seemed at a lost when the traffic light above them flickered rapidly between signals and let everyone off, leaving Adrien to find a hiding place.

He wasn't quick enough.

That was his only thought as he caught up to them and saw Ladybug get hit by a beam from the akuma's weapon while she was in mid-swing. She fell from above, and Chat was able to catch her and hide away in an alleyway nearby behind a dumpster. Footsteps clicked loudly as the villain jumped down and passed them on the sidewalk, peering in but not entering. Chat kept his hand over Ladybug's mouth just in case, listening closely until the coast was clear. He cringed as he could hear cries in the distance.

"My Lady? Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly, and he released her, only for her to scoot backwards a few feet away from him.

"I-I...She's c-called Indecision." Ladybug managed to stutter out before clutching her head.

Her eyes flashed with something he recognized clearly now. It was the same fear as they did back when they were dancing. Only now, it was magnified and read clearly in her shaking body.

His heart sank as he realized what Indecision had possibly locked her mind with.

Chat grabbed her by the shoulders, snapping her focus from her frantic thoughts to him.

"My Lady. I'll take the lead. Just try your best and follow me." He was careful with his words, unsure if any possible questions would make her worse. "Just call your Lucky Charm and we can end this quick before it gets worse."

"Lucky Charm!"

A polka-dotted, rectangular package fell into her hands, which she broke open and tossed a couple pieces to him.

He looked in surprise at the squares of bubblegum in his hands.

Despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but think that a Lucky Charm has never been anything he would put in his mouth.

Turns out, ancient magic tastes like strawberries.

The two heroes probably will look completely ridiculous chasing after the villain while blowing red and black bubbles on the Ladyblog later, but that's not exactly the highest priority at the moment.

It was a lot of dodging and weaving, but they managed to end up one on each side of the villain, with Chat facing her. Just as Indecision readied her magic 8 ball to hit him with a beam, he quickly blew a bubble that burst and covered the window of the ball. Indecision jumped back in surprise, shaking her weapon as it malfunctioned, before looking back up to see Chat Noir kick it out of her hands. The ball cracked in half when it landed on the ground, with Ladybug taking the rest from there.

His heart skipped a beat when she gave him a wide, warm smile as they fist-bumped.

Her earrings beeped in warning and she turned to him after casting her yo-yo.

"Hey, I'll see you soon, okay? You'll know when."

He only looked back at her a little puzzled, but waved at her back as she swung up and off into the distance.

Adrien had no idea how he got through these shifts last quarter without Marinette as company. He realized very quickly in the way he kept turning to her booth every so often to say something, only to realize she wasn't there.

He missed her a lot.

The chalkboard this week was filled with text to make up for the measly drawings of the two drinks of the week. At least he included the magic 8 ball.

Villain of the Week: The Espresser of Two Teavils . Studying for finals, he gave the unfortunate souls (himself included) a choice between a caramel iced coffee with 4 extra shots and a extremely concentrated blend of green and black iced tea - both the same amount of caffeine, it just came down to what flavor poison you picked.

Left now to his own quiet thoughts, he tried to bury himself in his notes the few breaks in between customers. The whole shop was filled with students with not a single seat empty after the first two hours, stifled with the clicks of keyboards, pages turning, and low chatter.

And yet, it all felt like a dull, humming silence.

There was a point where he pulled out the notes sent to him over the last 6 weeks. To anyone else that would have seen them, they probably wouldn't have built much of an image when put together on their own. He even asked Nino what he thought of some of the hints, who just clapped his hand on his friend's back and chuckled.

Obviously they'd mean something more to himself, Nino reasoned. Other than that, to anyone else the clues just meant she was a regular human being like everyone else.

He overturned the suggestion box after the long night was over and he kicked out the stragglers at closing time. The box was nearly empty save for a handful of suggestions, with her note at the top.

 **[Hint #6: You're the most important person in the world to her. Never doubt that, no matter what.**

 **PS: After you lock up, meet me on the back balcony of the Lit building? Bring the drink of the week and come as yourself.]**

The building was locked, of course - it was past midnight after all. Not that it would stop Adrien, transforming in the shadows and extending his staff to the tallest balcony where no one would see them and detransformed again, Plagg keeping oddly quiet once nestled in his bag with the two warm thermoses.

Ladybug arrived only a couple minutes after him and only smiled in greeting before sitting down next to him. Her feet kicking in the air as they dangled over the edge under the gap in the railing. A thoughtful hum came from her as she stared up, biting her lip in thought.

He picked up a thermos from his bag, feeling Plagg move to cling to the other one, and held it out to her.

"Coffee for your thoughts?"

She took the coffee in her hands, bringing it up to her lips but not tilting it far enough to actually take a sip. She seemed to ponder something before setting it down to the side.

"I got you something too. I meant to give it to you last I saw you two weeks ago when I was a mess, but I forgot them. I had to buy another set."

From her bag she produced a small bunch of purple carnations that she held out to him.

"Sorry for being an ass and making everything more confusing."

Well. This was a surprise.

Adrien had done research on the meanings since she gave that hint weeks ago, and he was more afraid that she would give him a striped flower to signify rejection of his feelings.

Solid colors had many different representations of love, but he recalled that two colors were to be avoided in a bouquet since they differed, yellow and -

"Purple carnations stand for capriciousness. So, they can mean an apology for being so fickle. Today's akuma didn't really help with that either." Ladybug gave a short laugh and held it out further until it was pressed against his chest. "Come on, I know you don't want me to apologize, but I already got them for you. Take them."

Adrien didn't really know how to handle this new sight of a bashful, blushing Ladybug looking away shyly and giving him flowers.

"Does this mean...you're ready to talk?" He took the flowers from her hand, gently touching the bruised edge of a petal as he gathered his courage.

"Yes. But first-" Ladybug scooted closer to him and covered his eyes with both her hands.

"M-My Lady?"

He nearly dropped the bouquet as she did so. His partner hummed in the tone that went with a frown, and next her fingers parted, allowing him to see again.

"Shhh. I'm testing something."

She angled her hands so that his eyes peeked out between her ring and middle fingers, and the tips of her middle and index fingers rested on the bridge of his nose. Her thumbs just rested against his face, gently stroking them against his skin once she seemed satisfied with her work.

"There. Man, I can't believe I didn't see this before." She let out a breathy laugh before taking back her hands but she kept their close distance. "Even knowing it's you, it's just so weird to put a face to the mask after so long, you know?"

Her uneasy tone betrayed her anxiety over the thought. She shifted uncomfortably, looking away.

"Do you mind turning around and sitting like last time? It's just a little easier that way."

Adrien nodded, picking up his legs from over the ledge and turned away from her. He felt her relax against his back and a sudden warmth as a familiar crackle of energy ran up it, a bright pink flash of light washing over his surroundings.

"Ladybug, what are you-?" Adrien forced his head to stare straight ahead, all too aware of the feel of her clothes brushing against his arms.

"It's...easier for me to talk without the mask. Like I have this pressure to be in control and I can't lose my cool with the mask on. It's silly, but it's like a switch I can't turn off."

A bare hand reached out into his peripheral vision, flinching when it made contact with his hand and then hesitantly covering it. Her bare fingers - he felt calluses on her fingertips and a few raised bumps that could be scars - laced between his.

"So. About these last few weeks." She let out an uneasy breath. "My job and school was a whole lot of my sources of stress, but there was one more."

"...was it me?"

"Not in the way you would think." She was quick to counter.

Her hand pulled his back so she could study his hand, tracing her fingers over the lines of his palm and feeling the toughened skin where his foil fit into his grasp after years of fencing and sports - or maybe also his staff as Chat Noir, he was active enough that it was hard to tell. They were rough against the same calloused texture of her fingertips, and he wondered if it was a mystery for her as well.

"That day, when you were teaching me to dance and I freaked out? I didn't know what I was feeling but it was new and it was strong. It scared me because it all came all of a sudden. And I didn't realize that in my confusion I hurt you too without meaning to."

His hand fell back to his side with her fingers once again intertwined with his as she leaned further against him, sighing deep.

"It took me a long time to think it through. My kwami was going insane from me being in denial about it for so long. To me it didn't make any sense. Why was it the second I let down my guard, the second I even considered it a possibility...it hit all at once? I always heard about it happening slowly that you never noticed it till it's too late. Instead, it was like a sucker punch to the face."

Ladybug was nearly rambling at this point as her voice began to pick up speed, but Adrien was almost too afraid to get her back on track.

His heart was beating so loudly, so hopeful that this was what he thought it could be.

He asked it anyway.

"...what did?"

She was silent now, ducking her head down.

"I thought about everything I know about you and everything I learned about you these past few weeks. I counted every single one, and there...there wasn't a single thing about you that I- mmmmmh." Her lips sealed shut to interrupt herself.

Adrien tried his best to hold in his laugh as the surge of affection washed over him. Truthfully he wanted to joke, but he knew that his partner was having a hard time. An elbow jabbed him half-heartedly in the side with a grumble to match. They stayed silent for another moment as Ladybug collected herself.

When she spoke again, her voice was so soft he barely could hear her.

"Hey. Close your eyes."

"Okay….?" He obliged, feeling her moving and her hand covering his eyes once again as a precaution. "What are you trying to see this ti…"

The words choked in his throat as he realized suddenly she was very, _very_ close to his face. The rest of her body was hovering close enough over his that he could feel the zipper ends of an open jacket brush against his arms, and by instinct he leaned back as she leaned forward and kept him close.

The breath of her nervous giggle feathered against his face. He gulped silently, unable to fight off the warmth taking over his cheeks.

"After years of flirting, now you're bashful about a little proximity?" She sounded amused.

"To be fair, the whole identity reveal thing didn't go exactly as I thought it would either. Thought it'd be more dramatic in the heat of battle or something when I didn't have time to make a fool of myself." He managed a grin back at her.

"I... kind of did too. But hey," he felt her shrug from the way her palm shifted over his eyes. "I think I like it better this way."

Her other hand came up and cupped the side of his cheek. His hand came up and covered hers.

"Yeah, me too."

This is it, isn't it?

Adrien's heart beat almost painfully in his chest from anticipation.

Her hands on his face pushed softly back as he unconsciously tried to lean in. Obedient, he stilled. He could feel her inching in slowly closer, could hear the sharp intake of breath as she prepared herself.

Her lips hovered so close to his without touching that he felt her lashes brush up against his face as she looked at him.

He took a breath, barely registering that he had been holding his own the whole time.

The soft pressure of her lips and the hot, moist huff of the air rushing out of her lungs with a frustrated whine against his hand covering hers on his cheek sent a jolt through his body. Her forehead tilted down to rest against his collarbone.

"Nghhhhhh...I can't do it! How do you get off being so cool with this stuff?"

Somewhere in his brain, Adrien faintly recognized what just happened. The rest of his body, namely his heart, stopped around the time he last breathed in and was now finally catching up.

" _What_?!" He whined, his body deflating and leaning into her hand still covering his eyes.

Oh God. She tried to kiss him.

Ladybug evidently feels something very strongly for him and _she tried to kiss him_.

And now she was leaning as far back as she could, taking back her other hand from his cheek.

"Forget it, I'm too embarrassed now." Her voice was muffled, probably covering her face with her other hand.

"Do you...want me to do it then?"

He felt kind of stupid for asking, but hey, it was a valid question!

She made more frustrated noises. "Never miiiiiiiiiind! Ugh, Tikki, spots on!"

He squeezed his eyes shut as her hand became encased in pink light. Finally, she removed her hand from his face and he could see her own pouting face. Arms crossed and sitting hunched over, her chin perched on top of her arms as she sat looking ahead out over the campus in the darkness.

Adrien was still giddy from excitement, so he decided to test the waters and scoot next to her to take up the same position, seeing a couple bike lights below of students seeking refuge in the wake of finals.

They stayed steeping in the comfortable silence that managed to settle between them. The air was gentle, only enough to make Ladybug's hair ribbons bob softly in the breeze. Both their faces still were flushed red, he noticed, but at least now she was faintly smiling, once in a while flickering her gaze from below and meeting his.

For a moment, her eyes lingered.

They were the brightest he's seen them in weeks. And they were bright and warm because she's looking right at him.

A familiar warmth settled in his chest, filling him to the ends of his fingers and toes. It was happiness and love and something else he was just on the edge of naming, but it all bubbled up and his heart was racing and he just felt so great and light and he just didn't have the vocabulary right now to describe it.

Adrien couldn't help the smile that split his face, and when he saw her mirror it back, it only made him happier.

It started in small giggles, crescendoing quick into full laughter between them. Her eyes crinkled and his were tearing up, but they didn't look away from each other. In fact, every time they thought they got it under control, just the slightest twitch in the others face sent them back into roaring laughter until their sides hurt.

The weight of anxiety that was still settled in his body escaped and dissipated with each gasp of air he struggled for with her.

Finally, after ages, Adrien was able to catch his breath, clutching his stomach. He wiped the tears streaming down his face, biting his cheeks as Ladybug struggled to calm down as well.

"My, uh, offer still stands, you know." He tilted his head, smirking.

Ladybug snorted and shoved his shoulder playfully before standing up, stretching her arms up in the air, her body angled away from his as she rested her hands on her hips.

"No. I'm not really as ready as I thought. You want to k-kiss me, come find me next week. You still haven't figured me out, after all." Her tongue stuttered on the word 'kiss' and made her indifferent face falter, encouraging the smirk to grow on his face.

In the end, she apologized that she couldn't say it yet - what she meant by "it" was still understood between them. He assured her, he was more than willing to wait for her to find the words.

He's had years to plan his own, after all.


	6. Mint to Be

AN: so unfortunately FF's format doesn't allow me to post pictures in the fic easily, and this chapter kind of has a lot of art so I'll just link the Ao3 version here.

Anyways, sorry for the delay, and there will be some extra stuff for this story posted on Ao3 and my Tumblr (Crispypata) soon like a side story for the PV kids! Other than that, not much else to say but thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoy the final chapter :)

* * *

 **[Week 2 - Chai Noir]**

In the middle of the previous quarter, Marinette had been dragged along to a café at the edge of downtown by her cousin, Bridgette.

While it did get her into a regular schedule for studying, she was at least little concerned at how well Bridgette knew her crush's schedule ("oh come on, if you were in my shoes I bet you'd be even worse!" She objected once, to which Marinette neither agreed or denied.) and the day that the shifts were shuffled around, the grumpy barista was one night replaced with a much nicer, much more familiar face.

Enter Adrien Agreste, model and son of her favorite designer.

So maybe Bridgette wasn't that wrong about the whole "you'd be worse" thing. Not that she'd admit it anyway; as far as her cousin knew, she was just sticking to the routine she was forced into.

Marinette bought her drinks before he came in for his shift so she wouldn't be a stuttering mess at the register, and managed only a glance when he came in before pondering on her project's theme for her class on week 2 of the quarter. It was a seminar on generating inspiration from the world around you, which came easy to her in collége. The class was encouraging everyone to try something new outside of their normal sources of inspiration.

Pick a series of anything and create a portfolio for each thing, including a photo of the source for each piece.

The only question was...what to pick?

Turns out fate had plans for her and her final project when she heard a yell and the sound of someone crashing to the ground.

Her first words to him ended up being, "A-are you okay?!" when he laughed himself so hard he fell off of the stepladder he was on.

Not the words she would have expected, but at least they came out clearly. Even the thought of ordering a drink while he was at the counter tied up her tongue and she couldn't understand why. Yes, he is son to Gabriel Agreste, her idol, but he's just another student here working a food service job like most everyone else on campus. Adrien Agreste is a normal person among normal people now.

The magical powers-that-be decided he should be treated as a normal person too, because when she looked up and saw the blackboard, her nerves dissipated almost instantly.

In neat letters the blackboard read "Chai Noir."

That's all it took for her former celebrity crush to crack. It didn't matter if he was cute; one punner in her life was already too much. She had to admit though, it was a good pun for the fact that the drink matched her partner.

Marinette felt a little bad for laughing at Adrien's drawing skills, but she was more than happy to fix it for him. She barely remembered to pull up a photo for reference since she knew her partner's face and messy long hair like the back of her hand.

Her fumble when she introduced herself aside, talking to him soon felt like easy banter like with Chat Noir or Alya. His body language was awkward and stiff at first even when his speech wasn't, she noticed, as if he never talked to people he met this soon this much. He never showed any sign of not wanting her company, so she stayed past closing time to talk with him and get her last drink for the night.

She smiled to herself as she started pedaling. Maybe they were actually meant to meet.

When she arrived at home that night, Marinette took a long sip of the drink as she dropped her bag on the beanbag chair.

She started doodling an idea she had the other day - a cute poncho with a fluffy trim that was light enough to wear with most weather. The hoodie cords had puffballs at the ends, matching the trim, and the whole thing would pair well with cute shorts or leggings.

The drink was nearly finished when she started painting it in with her cheap watercolors. She had drawn herself in the outfit, so navy was dabbed onto her hair and peach for her skin. Boots and shorts were easy with warm brown and light blue tones, but when she got to the poncho itself, she wasn't sure exactly what color she wanted.

That is, until she took the lid off of her coffee cup to check how much of the Chai Noir she had left.

Marinette took one last sip, poured the remaining drink in the overturned lid and dipped her clean brush in it.

 **[Week 3. Bugi-menthe]**

So. Turns out Adrien Agreste wears cat ears and spandex in his spare time.

When she had gotten home that night, Marinette pulled out a fashion magazine from her lycée years. There he stood on the cover, nonchalant in his posture with his head turned up looking at the warm colored leaves falling around him. A dark green coat with a high buttoned collar fit him nicely - this was one of her favorite looks that she wished came in the women's fall line. (She thought about making it herself before, but she didn't dare in case she ever met her idol.)

With her phone, she pulled up a picture from the Ladyblog of her partner and held both images up in the air as she reclined on her bed.

The hair was the first thing she remembers noticing up on the rooftop. Not like in his photos, where his hair was styled and out of the way, but how he wore it while at work. It was messy and fell about in its own way naturally.

Then his eyes. Piercing green, like grass in the middle of summer. Magic changed them to be more cat-like, but that shade of green was exactly the same.

There was a time years ago Alya had a theory that the model could be the hero, but Marinette brushed it off immediately. It didn't make any sense; how could someone so busy be a superhero? He was so secluded from the public world that his managers would notice the second he would try to slip away. Plus what's a secret identity worth if your face is plastered all over Paris?

And yet, where Adrien Agreste should have failed, Chat Noir had succeeded.

Alya would go insane knowing she was right, she thought to herself with a smile.

Marinette pulled her fingers through her hair, freeing them from her pigtails. Her kwami peeked out from her hiding space from the row of stuffed animals on her headboard shelf.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"...was it a good idea to start this game, Tikki?"

"I think it's a good thing by now that you chose to show yourself to him! You both have been fighting Hawk Moth for years now, so becoming closer can only make you stronger."

Marinette rolled over on her stomach, putting down everything on the bed in front of her. "Was that the case for previous Ladybugs and Chat Noirs?"

Tikki floated to rest in Marinette's open palms, giving her ward a comforting pat.

"Each pair is different with different circumstances around them. It's nearly impossible to compare any two different pairs. Once, a Ladybug and Chat Noir never met each other until two years after they got their powers because the land they were from was made of thousands of islands, and they couldn't understand each other since their local languages were too different!"

Marinette's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I guess we got off pretty lucky then to not be that star-crossed."

"Not to mention, Ladybug and Chat Noir are two halves of a whole. They have something the other needs to be really complete, and while you and Chat Noir work great together, you two have even more potential left untapped, I can feel it."

The girl turned to lie on her side, continuing thinking.

Adrien's features were so easy to notice, in retrospect. His dramatic posture in the suit could also be attributed to his modeling career. Everything she knew about Adrien from magazines or interviews, small bits of his personality could be matched and intensified in Chat Noir. Nothing was really missing, just played down. The only thing she couldn't do was imagine just Chat's mask on Adrien's face and complete the two as one in her head.

Her lips pursed as she twisted her hair around her fingers uneasily.

Well, there's one more thing she noticed.

He kept staring at the Ladybug drawing once she finished.

Not only that, but there was also the way he talked about Ladybug. He even remembered the flavors she said she liked best once in a random conversation before.

Overall, Adrien just appeared so honest in that moment earlier today.

There was a sinking feeling that settled heavy in her stomach when she slowly realized their flirty banter may not have been coming from the same place. Even heavier when thinking about how long it's possibly been going on.

Marinette opened to a fresh page in the back of her sketchbook and quickly wrote a header across the top.

"Things I learned about Chat Noir."

He's Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste is the biggest dork I have ever met.

She hesitated for a moment before turning the page and putting her pencil to work on the fresh paper. There were bigger things to focus on right now. Despite the funny feelings that she got in her chest thinking about things, Adrien did say he wanted to make a drink that she would like, and he did it.

A high-low dress was sketched onto the form on the page that billowed freely in the wind. Maybe a small cute hand clutch like a lemon slice. A sun-hat was needed too for this look, to complete the refreshing feeling it put together.

Now if only she could draw hats. There was that derby hat one time, but sun hats had a lot less structure...and that should have made it easier, just a swoop of her pencil for the brim's edge, but no matter how much she fiddled with it, it just looked like a giant leaf.

Whatever. It's a sketch, future Marinette can deal with it when she's drawing the final versions.

She turned the page again, thinking back about the game she just started. Now that she was pondering, what would be hints she could give him anyway? Blatant ones like appearance were things he already knew, and she didn't want to give away anything that was easy to narrow down with.

Marinette sat up and looked around her room for ideas, holding her pencil between her lips.

Not the stuffed animals (she had a couple cat ones still from years ago, but he didn't need to know that), not the sewing machine (if she kept going to the café she needed to get sewing work done there for commissions), and no to a lot of the things her eyes landed on.

Finally she looked down at her short coffee table where she left her cheap watercolors out from last night.

Ah, that should be a vague enough one to start with.

 **[Week 4. Stormy Blender]**

A funny thing happened when she came in that afternoon to drop off her next hint. The familiar grumpy blond was working the counter, looking up at her once in a while as she caught up on some reading. She stayed only for a half hour just to finish the lemonade she bought and brought the slip of paper back to the counter to put it in the box when he spoke to her.

"Hey, you. Where's the girl that's always with you before?" His voice was oddly quiet for his scary (now visibly uncomfortable) demeanor, as if his job was the only time he ever used it.

Still, he asked about Bridgette? As in he inquired about her existence after blatantly ignoring her all last quarter? Jeeze, who couldn't her cousin win over?

"...you mean Bridgette, right? Really poofy blue hair with a bit that's always sticking up in the air?" She imitated the ahoge by pointing her finger above her head. He barely shifted his head in a nod. "She's in the lion dance club; they've got a competition in a couple weeks so all their spare time is spent practicing...why do you ask?"

The barista seemed satisfied with that answer and turned away without another word to fiddle with one of the machines.

Okay, fine jerk. Be that way. Don't blame me if she lures you in with her kitten- er, lion eyes.

Marinette honestly wasn't sure if Bridgette really liked this guy or if he was a challenge to her. She didn't think much else on it as she left to get to her next class.

She decided to not tell Bridgette when she saw her back at the apartment later on. While her reaction would have been a fun break from her newest sketch for Stormy Blender (she tossed out a couple ideas before settling on a clear raincoat to display the outfit underneath), the last thing her cousin needed was a distraction to something she puts all her dedication into.

As Bridgette started telling a story about her new bruises she got from falling off her partner during dance practice, Marinette decided on the hint for next week.

Hah, she can just imagine Chat's surprise when he finds out that his dear Lady has two left feet.

 **[Week 5. Prepare For Bubbler]**

In those few breaths, suddenly her own chest refused to move.

It was as if a weight came down and squeezed the wind out of her, constricting and merciless.

He withdrew, and she followed the trail of his own breath, desperate for air.

This new feeling that would not let go scared her. It was too sudden, too much all at once. Under his gaze she was spellbound, unable to move with the flood of emotions that her mind didn't have names for. Panic hazed her thoughts and vision - she was drowning, and all she could see was his sharp green calling to her like a lighthouse.

Her alarm went off and broke the spell.

Like Cinderella, she bolted off into the night, not daring to look back.

Ladybug skidded across the loose gravel of the roof of her apartment complex, losing her grip and tumbling forward until she landed on her back. She was still struggling with her breath and her chest screamed for air. The rest of her body now lit up in pain as the adrenaline subsided, but none of it compared to the knots pulling themselves apart in her chest and core.

She barely was audible as she called off her transformation.

"T-Tikki? What's happening to m-me?" She gasped out, furiously rubbing at her eyes.

"Oh, Marinette, oh no." Tikki looked down at her charge with understanding, but didn't offer any answers. She rushed to cuddle up to Marinette's cheek and shooshed softly in comfort.

She couldn't think straight, just overwhelmed by everything suddenly coursing through her head and her body.

It took her a couple of days to even think of returning to her sketches, and she didn't even go back for another drink. It took some convincing for Bridgette to pick one up for her so she could have a picture for the assignment. The outfit was a little plain compared to last week, but she drew it with Nino as the model and wanted it to look like casual clothes he would actually wear.

The rest of the time she was free, Marinette just curled up in her bed and fought between trying to figure out what those feelings inside her were and trying to go numb and ignore them so she could have peace of mind for just a moment.

Her black scarf still laid on the carpet where she tore it off days ago.

 **[Week 6. Heaven-tea Muse]**

The battle with Heavenly Muse could have gone a lot better, but at least she didn't destroy too much in the process besides flooding the streets. Though her summons were made up of clouds of stars and nebula, a massive lion was scary no matter what it was made of and it still packed a punch. But there was a different kind of fear she couldn't shake off the whole time.

None of it made sense.

Not the lion or the giant scorpion that followed, that is. Magic was enough of an explanation for that.

What didn't make sense was how she couldn't look at Chat without that same panicked feeling crawling up her skin that made itself known on the rooftop last week. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out how to shake it off because she didn't even know what it was to begin with.

When Heavenly Muse separated them with the river, she was a tiny bit thankful since the dark waters that rose up between them still let her see where he was without seeing him clearly. Thanks to that, she could at least lead and know he would follow her movements like always.

What made even less sense than anything was how seeing him in the campus coffee house at the piano barely did anything to her compared to earlier.

Things she's learned about Adrien #6: he's a complete and utter dweeb. As in literally a mix of dork and weeb because he was now playing and singing along to the Sailor Moon opening theme. He had everyone else in the room fooled with his talent maybe, but she knew better.

Well, he couldn't be perfect. His existence wouldn't be fair otherwise.

That and his obliviousness so far wasn't much she could count against him but it was something that made him more human.

Well no, that wasn't exactly fair to say even though it was a joke. She knew as much about him as he did her at this point. There's plenty that she has to learn and find weird about him.

Marinette decided to let her presence be known. When she sat down at the bench next to him, she decided to take a closer look at his own behavior. So, she entered his territory with something familiar to her, a song from a movie she likes.

...Aaaaand he nailed it while sight reading. He was completely showing off.

Then he used an ancient meme on her. All this time, she thought "princess" was a nickname of affection, but _no_. He was meme trash and that couldn't be forgiven.

She took back the mercy she mentally gave him earlier.

Banter between them was easy until he became earnest again, and she felt her stomach twist into knots when he asked if she was stopping by tonight. Not for another drawing, but just for her company.

Everything stiffened, and she could tell he noticed the change when she responded. When he walked away, she had to stare blankly ahead until her heart calmed down.

Digging in her pocket for her phone, a slip of paper fell out. She stared at it grimly before picking it up and opening it - her hint # 3. It was another simple one: she loves carnations more than roses. Marinette wrote it not long after the previous one, but her feelings have definitely changed since writing it last week.

The control was still hers. If she wanted to fight off this weird feeling, she could just toss the slip of paper and end the game. She had every right to say no or change her mind.

So why did the thought of that action only make the weird feelings intensify?

Marinette roughly shut the lid on the keys and marched off to the bus terminal. She had an hour before her next class started.

Paws Fur Coffee was only a few minutes away by bus.

That weekend, Alya noticed a cup of Heaven-tea Muse on the living room table along with two other cups of coffee surrounding Marinette's sketchbook. She would have gotten away with it too if Bridgette didn't peek down from the loft and asked if she still went during the late shift when "that model guy Adrien" was working, to which Marinette only squeaked in response.

Alya turned to look at her expectantly, crossing her arms. "What's this about your lycée celebrity crush?"

As if she didn't already have enough on her plate. Marinette sunk deeper into the couch, hoping it would eat her and save her from juggling all these charades.

 **[Week 7. Latte Wifi]**

Once she unceremoniously shoved Chat out her window and warded off Alya's interrogations (during which she felt a crackle of energy similar to her own transformation at the small of her back and then heard a metallic thud), Marinette was left to stew in her thoughts. She tidied up her table, thankful that her mug was shoved onto the shelf of her headboard, so Alya only saw one mug on the table.

The tea was still a little warm. She couldn't tell how much time had passed between them talking from how easy it felt.

Maybe easy wasn't the word. Comfortable? Relaxed?

No. Natural. That was the word she was looking for. Despite her mounting anxieties over school and commissions and this weird feeling she kept having around Chat Noir...Adrien? Both of them; they were the same person but it was so hard to put a name to blame for the feelings when those feelings sparked from one and seeped deep into the other.

Anyway, despite all that, just being around him was also a comfort to her somehow. So she kept showing up as Marinette at the shop, and she decided to let him into her apartment and into her room.

So when Chat mentioned Ladybug hiding behind her civilian identity, everything made a little more sense.

Her identity was a shield. One that she could hide behind when he looked at her with those striking and honest eyes. He didn't recognize her, and so her nerves stayed calm.

She was so secure in who she is as a person now, unlike herself years ago when she first received her miraculous. Her reasons for hiding couldn't possibly be the same as they were then.

So what did it change into? Especially after tonight, she had no doubts that he trusted Marinette and considered her a good friend to open up about his feelings (which she partly wanted to reprimand him for just like how he called her by her name earlier because he should be a _little_ conscious of who he was at that moment). It wasn't that fear of being someone he wouldn't like, that much she knows.

"Tikki? I know you said that each pair was different, but were any of them this apprehensive about learning each other's identities?"

The red kwami floated over from her hiding space in Marinette's bag, landing in her palms as Marinette plopped down in her beanbag chair. Chat Noir had only sat in it for a while, yet the fabric already smelled a little bit like him.

"Of course! Everyone had their own circumstances, but those that did reveal themselves were reasonably scared to. It's a big decision that isn't always beneficial, and so that's why we encourage that you don't at first so you can make it for yourself."

And now here she was, on the path to that big decision.

She remembered the mantra her younger self said. "Heroes think with their heads, not their hearts."

That's what her powers were centered around. She saved Paris by using her brain to find a new use for the objects Lucky Charm gives her.

But these feelings were something that she couldn't figure out no matter how much her brain tried to wrap around it. And that's what scared her so much about standing at that crossroad because her brain wasn't getting her anywhere and her talk with her partner proved she didn't have the luxury of hiding and waiting around.

She had to take a page from Chat and try thinking with her heart.

The first thing that her heart pointed out once her brain relinquished control was that she was doing an awful job at considering her partner's feelings.

Marinette was scared, she was confused and frustrated and lost - but did she think letting him in was a mistake? She barely held back an objection the first time and slipped up the second when he thought it was his fault.

At the very least, she owed him an explanation to why she was avoiding him. She didn't have to tell him everything just yet.

(Later on that week, Marinette was really, really tempted to rip up the sketch she did for Latté Wifi when she confronted Alya about her little stunt with her note. Alya bought the lie that those notes were her passing on stuff for someone else, not herself, and she apologized a ton right afterwards.)

 **[Week 8. Di Citrussed]**

After the cycle of denial and anger and all the steps in the process, Marinette finally arrived at acceptance at 2 in the morning when she finally left the art and design building and found that she couldn't throw away the empty cup of coffee Adrien had delivered earlier that day.

It remained on the table as she stuck her work in a locker and it came with her home to where she sat on her bed and traced over the letters written on the side of the cup.

"Stop feeling so flustered." She told herself as she lifted the cup to press against her lips in thought.

Acceptance. That damn cat had wormed his way into her heart in a matter of weeks.

Or maybe it was there even longer than that. Maybe she just didn't see it because she never considered it a possibility until recently.

Another one for the scary thought pile.

Could it be though? Was she that determined and stubborn enough that she could lie to herself about her own feelings?

Seven weeks. Seven weeks since she officially introduced herself to Adrien. Six since she found out he was also Chat Noir. Five since she figured out how to beat him at paying for her drinks. Four since he tried to teach her how to waltz. Three since she found out he was a complete nerd. Two since he showed how much he trusted Marinette. One since she apologized after realizing how much he needed it.

Now she was running out of weeks in the quarter, and with them, hints left to give.

Well, he knew that Marinette knows about his past as a model. Might as well let him know Ladybug, technically, also was a fan. Not a big hint, but none of these were anyway.

Di Citrussed gave her the color palette for a cute outfit for a teacup-shaped skirt, she decided as she finished the first cup Adrien gave her the next night. Food and a good long sleep did wonders for her mood.

Adrien's mood, however, seemed really off. Marinette was caught off-guard when he asked if she's ever been akumatized. It isn't possible under normal circumstances as long as she wore her miraculous, but it's not like she could easily explain that away while hiding her cover. She took the first chance to dive out of the topic.

Then the topic landed on Ladybug.

Since finding out that Adrien was Chat and the week he made the Ladybug themed drink, she had a feeling he really did feel something for her, but just hearing him say everything so easily caught her by surprise. Cold tea was not fun to snort out of your nose as you choked on it.

Adrien Agreste, aka Chat Noir, was impossible. His existence and his entire being was impossible down to the way he described her habits and even their first meeting with such affection. Then he turned to Marinette at the door and offered her as much support as she did him weeks ago.

She didn't want to say good night just yet.

Just for a little longer, she wanted to just be with him. So she invited him along for a late dinner and even beat him to the check after tripping him on the way to the front counter of the restaurant.

 **[Week 9. The Espress-er of Two Tea-vils]**

Week 9 was rough, but she made it. Everything had been finished early for her projects and after she got the last theme drink tonight, she can turn in her final portfolio for the seminar after everything gets done tonight. Alya was surprised and proud at how she kept to her word, even offering to pay for brunch out in downtown so they could relax before finals started.

As much as bottomless mimosas were calling her name, she had a sneaking suspicion that Alya was going to try and get some information about whatever was going on between her and Adrien.

Honestly, these last few weeks would have been a whole lot easier if she could talk to her about it.

Her pen tapped thoughtfully against her lip as she stared at the wall of the coffee shop. It was only noon on Thursday. After the mess that was Indecision's battle yesterday, she was only more determined to confront the end of this whole game.

So here she was in Paws Fur Coffee, with a plain latté and a slip of paper on the table in front of her.

Hint #6.

What's the last thing she could tell him about herself at this point? She didn't want to make the answer too obvious.

What else is there that was important for him to know?

Out of everything she handed him so far, none of them were big tells or anything extraordinary. She's Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of some of the best bakers in Paris and a student with big aspirations. That's always been her. Clumsy, hard-headed Marinette who was also cunning and gets a little too involved in things for her own good.

Becoming Ladybug just happened to even out the traits she needed, but this was who Chat Noir - Adrien - was going to meet. The girl that came first.

Someone who in her spare time is just as ordinary and gets just as little sleep as the thousands of other people on this campus.

Marinette was confident in who she is, but there was always going to be that "what if" that maybe there would be something he might not like about her. He sounded so sure that he would love every single part of her that he would meet, but was it really that easy?

She laid her head against the table and groaned.

There was _one_ last thing she wanted to tell him after figuring everything out. She just didn't have the words for it yet. Any attempt to just directly say it made her tongue stutter.

So maybe she should say it in a different way.

Marinette wrote the final hint with the request to meet at the end and quickly shoved it in the box before she could change her mind.

Now all that's left is two finals during week 10. That and changing her life forever by letting her partner find out her identity, of course. Somehow that made the dread of her literature final not seem as bad.

 **[Week 10. Mint to Be]**

It was raining when Adrien came in for his shift that Thursday night.

As luck would have it, all his finals were crammed into the first three days, so technically his school break started today. He came in anyway to work since he didn't have much else to do.

Oh, and he was going to find out who the love of his life is after years of knowing the mask. Like that wasn't a big deal either.

To say he was anxious was an understatement. Not even all the coffee shop AUs he had read online could prepare him for this moment.

Not only because of that, but also because of the drink he had planned for that day. It was a special month to the two of them, after all.

It was the first thing he did upon entering the cafe and relieving Felix from his shift. He looked over his shoulder once at Marinette asleep at a table near the front, arms folded over her books. Maybe it was better if he did this one himself. The chalk felt oddly heavy in his apron pocket.

He picked out a piece of grey chalk and began to draw the familiar shape of the tower.

Drink of the Week: Mint to Be \- A peppermint mocha.

He debated with himself before adding "Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" at the bottom underneath his scribble of Stoneheart hanging from the Eiffel Tower.

Six years ago. Not the exact date, but within the month was the day Hawk Moth had possessed his first victim and they had began their lives as saviors of Paris.

And now he had to figure out who among the patrons here was his partner. He scanned the room once again before getting back to the counter to do his job, still thinking to himself.

One. She likes to paint, and loves watercolors. Two. She can't dance, she's clumsy. Three. She likes carnations. Four. She focuses too much and doesn't see how it affects others. Five. She likes that one fall coat (which he brought with him in his bag today).

And six. He...means a lot to her.

He mentally chided himself for putting it that way, snorting as he was pouring a shot and steamed milk into a cup. Adrien wasn't quite sure where they stood with the feelings between them, but she said herself that he's the most important person to her. Out of everything she couldn't convey at the time, she at least let him know that.

The whole night had passed slowly. Nino had texted him early on checking if he was going to be around for a gig he got during the break - a bunch of his old classmates were getting together since he can get friends in for free, and Adrien would get along with a lot of them.

Besides a slow back and forth with Nino, Adrien was kept busy with the incoming customers. He studied every face that came in through the line and the ones who came in to visit other seated patrons.

But not a single newcomer was his Lady. He was sure of that.

Anxiety slowly built up in his veins as the minutes ticked to hours and he couldn't find a break in the crowd to take a better look. He even considered getting Plagg from his bag in the back room to help him, but Ladybug gave him hints and they should help him find her somehow…

Being Chat Noir over the last few years gave him more balance and control over his own life, but growing up in the stifling cage of the Agreste name instilled habits and fears he still was in the process of undoing. He remembered when he and Nino met for the first time in person, somehow the easy going attitude he carried online disappeared all at once. When it became clear that he was unaware of many social norms, it became harder to call on the confidence he drew from the suit or the separation he could at least hide behind.

Things like those moments lessened and became easier as Nino was understanding, teaching him what he lacked and when the media attention lost interest in him (Surely, they were expecting him to completely snap loose once on his own and become a scandal with parties and stuff. That's not how social anxiety works, thank you very much) but when it came to more difficult decisions - ones that truly mattered and hesitation could cost you, that fear is all just the same as it ever was.

And so it built up in his body, brick by brick with each passing glance at the tacky cat clock on the wall.

Even with the heavy rain, as the last open hour came, people began to leave as their devices ran out of battery - the cafe did not have that many outlets available to appease the finals crowd, after all - and soon there was only a handful of students left.

He must have seen a hundred people come and go, and none of them were his Lady.

Adrien ran through the hints in his head again as he started cleaning the emptied tables, still hoping that she would drop in before closing time and he would spot her.

She likes painting. She's clumsy. She likes carnations and doesn't like roses. She gets too focused. She has a favorite out of all his photoshoots.

In all, average traits of a very ordinary person. Maybe that's what she wanted him to gleam from all this.

Adrien looked over at his friend still fast asleep at the booth next to the table he was cleaning. Marinette has been asleep nearly the whole time she was here, and she's been here since before he came in. He chuckled to himself, wondering if he should wake her up so she could at least get some studying in. Poor thing has had a lot of bad luck in the time that he got to know her.

A particularly loud clap of thunder had jostled him out of his thoughts.

Marinette was also shaken out of her sleep, shoving half the contents of the table onto the floor as she bolted upright in her seat, arm swung out in a ready stance as if to fight the storm brewing outside.

Adrien's muffled snickering cut through the quiet patter of the rain outside. He tried to stifle his laughter while bending to help pick up all the fallen books. He grabbed the closest one that had landed open side down, and was about to shut it and hand it to her when a word on the page caught his eye.

'Chai Noir.'

It was messily scrawled on top of a sketch of herself in a large fluffy poncho, cup of coffee drawn in a raised hand. The brown, orange, and cream colors blooming on the page were warm, comfortable.

Most important of all, they were spread on the page with _watercolor paint_.

Adrien always thought the moment they learned each others real identities would be a magical moment like in fairy tales or a dramatic climax in a movie. The magic spell would come undone that separated the two of them at last. That finally, fate had truly brought them together as friends, partners, and soulmates. That despite his misfortunate life, he was able to meet her because of it.

And in that moment, when another roll of thunder echoed through the sky, it was soon followed by a flash of lighting that reached through the windows, casting its light over everything in the gray mood of the room.

In that very moment, the light reflected the navy highlights in Marinette's hair and brightened the sheen of her eyes. That's when he saw it.

She was looking at him with that scared look he had become very familiar with over these last few weeks. This time, though, there was something more.

 _Hope_.

There was hope, there was nervousness, there was everything that he had felt in the air when Ladybug had covered his eyes on the rooftop last week.

He faintly felt his face grow warm and his lips part in surprise as realization slowly dawned on him. Maybe that one hint about being too focused counted for him too.

In that moment, he understood.

That same fear that reflected in her eyes tightened his throat and made his fingers tremble.

This was the moment where they were captured by apprehension at the edge of that line now so clear in between them, so strong that they were spellbound, frozen in time.

Ladybug had always maintained careful control of that wall she hid behind, but now he was really seeing her eyes for the first time through the cracks she let form in it. And this time, instead of backing away and hiding beyond his view, he knew her palm rested against her side of the wall, mirroring his.

It wasn't Cataclysm that would finally break that wall between them, but instead a single breath that had just as much fearsome power.

It became hard to swallow, and he had to clear his throat before his lips shaped his nervous hope into the hand that reached up into that crack in the wall and rip out the first chunk of brick.

"...My Lady?"

Her hand reached out for the sketchbook. Fingers gripped tight to cover the words at the top of the page, but they did not pull away. Their gazes did not break even as her hand trembled just like his. She let out the smallest breath of a laugh, not even enough to move her still chest.

Blue eyes shifted into a smile. Her voice was barely audible that he read her lips carefully to make sure he was hearing what he thought he did.

"It took you _paw_ -fully long enough, Chatton."

Her words were the hands that gripped tight, ripping the second brick from the wall and revealing her full face to him.

He exhaled, letting go of the breath that had lodged in his chest to make room for the emotions that were all too much for his poor heart to take. It overflowed, leaking out in the tug of a grin on his face and the tears that threatened his eyes.

His Lady. His Ladybug had let him in.

She was now complete. She was now even more tangible than before.

She was _Marinette_ and his love and affection for the two, platonic and otherwise, was such a new experience combined in him that he didn't know what to do with himself.

Adrien did the only thing that he could handle right now and hugged her tightly. He had to quickly brace his arm on the table when her chair nearly tipped over from his sudden force. She clung to him tightly in surprise, and didn't let go when she was safe again, .

"My Lady, my Lady, my Lady…" He repeated like a mantra softly, testing out how powerful, how suddenly _real_ the words suddenly became on his tongue.

Marinette pulled back slowly to study his face. Her eyes were glossy, like his.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi." He quipped back.

Her eyes flitted past his head. "You better get back to work, kitten. We can talk afterwards."

Adrien cringed, turning his head to look at the rest of the shop. There was a collective shuffling sound as people looked back at their own devices or hid behind their books.

Nosy people. There's already a ton of Asian dramas for coffee shop romances, go find your own.

Marinette pointedly picked up her books from the floor and continued to read whatever she was using as a pillow earlier. She kept a straight face as he shielded her from the rest of the room's view so he could quickly place a kiss on her hand, like always.

He felt her reluctance to let go too. But a job was a job and these people needed coffee.

After he kicked out the last straggler at closing time, he finally got a good look at his partner. Marinette apparently hadn't expected this intensity in weather and was dressed lightly. She somehow didn't have an umbrella in the black hole of a bag she carried.

He got the chance to surprise her when he came back from the back room with his bag and found her standing in front of the glass windows watching the rain come down.

She jumped when he slowly placed his green coat around her shoulders.

"Looks like it's a good color on you too."

She whipped around, her shock growing as she felt the material under her grip.

"No way. You actually brought it?" She pulled it off her shoulders to study the structure of the garment. Fingers ran over the seams and the lapels before she slowly put it on herself. She held the high collar closed for a moment but didn't button it. He was glad for that - her smile was the last thing he wanted hidden more than anything.

"Just my luck to be prepared, huh?" He watched her looking at her reflection in the glass.

"Just my luck to not be." She held the collar closed over her nose and mouth again and exhaled. "You wouldn't happen to have an umbrella, would you?"

Her face dropped and she groaned when he pulled out a red and black polka dot umbrella from his bag. He only grinned wider.

Adrien turned off the lights and stepped under the awning outside to open the umbrella. She shook her head and followed, waiting beside him as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

He held his open umbrella out to her, smiling wide with that same warmth he could only describe as _completeness_ filling him entirely. Her big, blue eyes, only intensified in the gray lighting of the world around them, flickered between his hand and his face before she hesitantly took the umbrella from him.

He had barely turned the key in the lock when he heard a noise, and turned to see the umbrella had closed on her head, only her hand visible as it reached into her bag.

"Don't. Laugh." he heard her mutter from under the umbrella.

She didn't move to open it back up, keeping her other hand hidden, so he helped pull it back up to reveal her embarrassed face.

He could only grin at her, still amazed at the person in front of him. Beautiful, powerful, _miraculous_ Ladybug and kind, stubborn, caring Marinette were one in the same. His partner. His best friend. The only person in the world who knew all of him, and now he was the same for her.

Marinette then shoved something in his face that caused his eyes to cross before he backed up his head to see it properly.

Deep red.

As deep as Ladybug's suit, and now as red as Marinette's face, was the single carnation she held out to him.

Her face was turned away as far as physically possible. "I...c-couldn't really figure out how to s-say it in the end, b-but I really, uh, wanted to, s-so…?" her voice petered out, ending the phrase in a questioning tone.

He honestly, truly couldn't have been happier. With loud, free laughter he picked her up by the waist and spun her around once before crushing her against him in his arms, her head tucked right underneath his chin. The umbrella stopped rolling on the ground some feet away forgotten as Adrien began swaying back and forth in happiness before finally holding her at arm's length just to look at her.

Deep red. As deep as the affection and love the flower meant.

Somehow, it was still safe in her hand after all the excitement. She held it loosely now at her side, caught up in bashful giggles herself. Her smile - the same as his mother's - was warm and wide, and small puffs of her breath were barely visible in the chilly air.

"Do I really make you that happy, kitten?" her eyes were barely open from her happiness.

He bumped his forehead against hers in complete bliss, eyes shut. If he was in his suit, he would be purring loud enough for the whole city to hear. It was almost scary just how much he was feeling everything all at once, as if it was all about to overflow.

If he thought he loved her so much before, there was no possible way to measure what he felt now.

"More than words could say. I'll still try anyway you know."

Under his touch she shifted, the contact so soft and fleeting that when he opened his eyes again, she was now dipping out of his embrace and running to catch the umbrella that started rolling away again in the breeze.

Wait.

Oh. Oh hell no, she's not getting away after pulling that-!

"H-Hey! I wasn't ready! Not fair!" Adrien stuttered out as he followed her. The realization was still echoing in his head.

She just _kissed_ me. She _actually kissed me this time_!

Marinette caught the umbrella, holding it in front of her like a shield and giggling in victory.

"Too bad! The mood is over, try again later!"

She squealed as he started bolting after her in the empty streets, both of them slipping and sliding on the wet sidewalk for blocks. Marinette was more nimble, keeping the distance between them steady until she reached the base of the stairwell to her apartment.

Adrien caught her as she tried to peek in her bag for her keys, trapping her against the wall with both his palms on each side of her head. They stood still, catching their breath.

It was the perfect moment for him to make a snarky joke. Her eyes looked up at him with an eyebrow quirked, with that smirk that was so familiar that usually settled under her mask. She was ready to quip back at anything he was going to say, as was their usual banter as Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Adrien, however, chose to finally press his lips against hers.

Both their lips were chapped from the cold weather, and the kiss was shortened by the way both their mouths split into wide open grins as the giggles only increased again. He pulled away, covering his lips with his fingers as his blush deepened.

Marinette burst out in full laughter and weakly tried to pull his hand away from his face. "Pffffft- See? Not as easy when you have to do it, huh?"

Adrien pouted at her. "You laughed too, Buginette. It's not all my fault." He paused for a moment. "Wait. Your name is Marinette, it fits perfectly, hah!" He realized with wide eyes.

She rolled her own and dipped out once again out of his arms, finally pulling out her keys and starting up the stairs.

"Come on, we're gunna get sick if we stay out any longer. How about we catch up over some tea?"

He could barely remember that it was still raining outside from the way he felt so full of warmth and joy. The sight of her looking down from a few steps above in his jacket, smiling just as strongly as he probably was, only multiplied it.

It was a flame that burned bright and strong. But it wasn't too hot to the touch. In fact, he felt just fine.

"Do you have any chocolate croissants?"

"I told you last time you were here, didn't I? Only the best in all of Paris."

With that, she took his hand and lead the way up the stairwell, the echoing rain the only sound as it pattered against the metal.

* * *

"Plagg! No! Leave them be!"

Something was thumping against the back of his head. He could feel the sweet lull of sleep slip away from his brain as he heard Plagg.

"Adriennnn. I'm hungry. You had enough cuddle time already."

"Nnnnnngh…leave me alone, Plagg." He muttered as he wrapped his hands tighter around the warmth in his arms and nuzzled his head against the softness tucked right under his chin.

It was nice and smelled like vanilla and lavender. The whole room felt so warm and comfy and familiar. He let his eyes stay closed when Plagg's pestering stopped with a squeak.

A door swung open loudly.

"Hey Mari, we gotta help find Nino's roommate, he says he didn't come home so he's probably at the li...brary…" the voice dropped out as it entered the room.

"...found him." Nino deadpanned.

Adrien's eyes snapped open.

He was then on the carpet holding his nose where Marinette flailed and hit him with the back of her head.

Alya cut off whatever she was about to say to Nino, crossing her arms at her roommate. Her eyes were scary.

"Nothing going on between you two, huh?"

Nino, however, only grinned and gave him a thumbs up in a ridiculous dad-like manner. He could feel Nino's pride for him just radiating off of the DJ.

Adrien covered his face in embarrassment.

Marinette just looked around the room and sighed. "Please can we settle this over breakfast or something?

Alya hummed in consideration before shrugging. "Man, and I thought Nino getting us all into his big gig tonight was news. We'll be downstairs waiting, lovebirds!"

Alya tugged Nino with her out the door, leaving a confused Bridgette by the doorway. She peeked in.

"Should I ask?"

"No." Marinette flopped down on her stomach with a groan back in the bed.

"M'kay. Hi Adrien!" She waved at him before walking off.

"...she looks familiar, did she used to come to the shop before?" He looked up at her with curious eyes. She turned red and covered her head with the blanket.

"...It's a long story." She sighed.


End file.
